Uzumaki Naruto, Unpredictable Treasure Hunter
by Jathal
Summary: The Digger sisters decided to go on an expedition and bit off more than they could chew... luckily the most unpredictable ninja of all time is around to pull them out of the mess they've fallen into. First Naruto/GD crossover ever, read and review please! NEW POLL! Visit my page to vote! Next chapter won't be out till I get some decent results!
1. Chapter 1

"Oh come on! Go down you bastards!" Brianna growled in frustration as her attacks seemed to have no effect on her foes, a dozen golems that had suddenly activated as she tried to leave the chamber she was in.

Putting her pulse rifle to her shoulder Brianna let loose a salve of armor piercing rounds but her silent attackers acted as if they didn't even notice them. When one of the lumbering golems reached a stalagmite it negligently backhanded it away, reducing the rock formation to dust in a moment. Brianna's eyes widened as one thought raced through her head. 'Don't get hit, that would be very, very bad!'

Brianna growled out in anger as she swapped her ammunition for something a little more... powerful and began to back away as she used plasma shells to break the temple's defenders apart. Feeling some satisfaction Brianna lowered her weapon and was about to turn around when she saw the piles of rubble shifting. Looking on his shock Brianna nearly screamed in frustration as the three golems in front of her reformed and advanced on her again. Brianna turned around and bolted for the exit of the gallery, gritting her teeth as she thought back at how this trip started. 'Everyone had been feeling edgy for the past few months after Mom had gotten back for her exile to Jade, so Gina thought it best to get out of the house, see the world, make a discovery... but I don't think this is what she had in mind!'

Flashback

"So this ancient temple of... What was it called again Gina?" Gina sighed softly, getting ready to repeat the information... AGAIN... To her younger sister, who was leaning back and enjoying the flight without a care in the world.

"Like I said the last three times Brittany, it's called the Temple of Mu. Apparently it was some kind of outpost for a continent that sunk over 15,000 years ago. I still don't know what caused the disaster but there may be a clue where we're headed." Gina glanced back at the last passenger in the back seats of the car. Brianna was looking over their small arms collection that she had brought on this mission, one of her experimental designs of a intelligent bomb called a Peebo in her lap oohed and awwed as each piece was expertly disassembled then reassembled at extremely high speeds. "Everything OK back their Brianna? You seem a little nervous."

Gina watched her sister's hands stop slowly as the question was asked and a small sigh escaped the half were cheetah's lips. "I don't know what's wrong, but ever since Mom came back from Jade, I've been feeling kinda... I dunno, nervous and twitchy, like there's something around me I keep missing."

Gina was surprised that Cheetah seemed to respond to what Bri had said in a very strange way, she straightened up and placed her chin in her palm and a low rumbling sound filled the cabin of the car. "I know what you mean sis, it's almost like someone is watching up, I keep thinking I see flashes of someone outta the side of my eyes but when I turn, it's gone. I thought I was going stir crazy but with what you just said it may be something else."

Gina pulled out her remote link to the home mainframe and looked at the security logs over the past 6 months since her Mom's curse had been lifted. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary... wait, why was sub basement 12 taken off the security monitoring list? "Hey, did either of you mess around with the security systems at home? There's a sub level that's not being monitored at all!"

Brianna leaned forward and looked at the information on the wrist comp and then looked at her older sister. "You know Brit would never touch any of those systems and I can be absolutely sure I didn't do it. I think we have an intruder at home."

Brittany grinned evilly and cracked her knuckles, realizing this was a situation where her particular... talents would come in handy. Gina looked at her sisters and nodded. "Ok, when we get home we'll figure this out, we're already here so we may as well have a look around."

After the girls landed in front of the temple and disembarked the Gina mobile, they all had the same thoughts.

'This is a temple? It looks like a dump!'

A partially collapsed structure was all they could see, it didn't look any larger than a two storey home and all three Diggers looked at each other skeptically. Other than the extremely wide and tall mountain the old building was constructed against, the location didn't appear to be anything special. Brianna looked back at her older sister and folded her arms under her breasts. "And your sure this is the place Gina?"

Gina sighed as she walked towards the dilapidated structure, looking for a place to enter the interior of the 'temple'. As she shifted several piles of rubble Gina smirked when a large, dark opening was revealed to her. "Well, well, it appears all of this may be a front for the true temple inside. Time to head in everyone! Get your gear ready and we'll explore this place from top to bottom."

Brianna went back to the car and opening the trunk she released as dozen more of her new Peebos, Brittany pulled on a pair of her fighting gloves while Gina grabbed her tools and a small energy pistol for protection. All the girls nodded at each other and entered the darkened chamber they had uncovered, completely forgetting to close the trunk in their excitement at exploring a new mystery.

* * *

Moments after the girls disappeared into the dark a shadowy figure exited the trunk, shut it quickly and raced into the temple, a hauntingly familiar worry growing in the pit of his stomach 'Oh you have got to be kidding me, what are the chances they've stumbled onto a Sound research post?! Geez, these girls have worse luck than Baa-chan!'

* * *

After a brief walk the trio of explorers were shocked at the view before them. It was an entire underground city, amazingly preserved and massive in it's scale. As they walked forward everyone stopped when they reached a ledge, seeing the impressive city below them.

"Jinkies, it's got to be at least half the size of the mountain! This is a huge find!"

Gina looked over and saw that there were two platforms, one about twenty feet above their heads and looking down another was over a hundred feet down. Looking back at her sister's Gina frowned. "Well, this is MUCH larger than I anticipated. It''s going to take forever to search this place."

Brittany pounded her fist in her upturned palm and said, "I know, how about we split up, each team searches a platform?"

Gina and Brianna both looked at each other, surprised at the unusually good suggestion from the middle Diggers sister. Both girls grinned and nodded, wanting to get the show on the road and see what secrets this ancient location held in store!

* * *

Brianna had felt confident going with her Peebos, feeling that it would be a great test of their capabilities and to also see where she needed to make some changes. And for the first half hour, everything was fine. So far Brianna hadn't come across anything that was note worthy, just a lot of deserted buildings that looked like they had been stripped clean before being abandoned.

As Brianna reached the end of the path she was following she saw a very large cavern in front of her. Raising her pulse rifle up she turned on a powerful flood light attached to it and entered the cavern. She was greeted by multiple stone statues that appeared similar in appearance to several characters from video games that Gina had played previously. Brianna ran a hand over the dusty stone, wondering what they were for, I mean who puts a dozen stone statues in a dark cavern for no reason?

Turning back towards the exit Brianna was about to leave when she heard the unmistakable sound of stone rubbing against stone. Brianna slowly brought her weapon to bare then spun around, dropping to her knee in a perfect firing position, just in time to watch a massive fist that passed over her through the spot her head had been previously. Eyes widening Brianna immediately opened fire on the now animated statues, her worry growing as she saw the shots that hit them weren't doing much more than making them mad.

End Flashback

"SHIT! Peebos! Front and center, we got a situation here!" Each of the dozen Peebo's raced towards their creator rapidly, knowing that this would be their first real test. As they all appeared, small ports on their bodies opened, revealing multiple hidden weapons. All of the bit bombs growled at the advancing golems and waited for the signal. Brianna slapped a new magazine in her rifle and barked out, "LET'EM HAVE IT!"

* * *

Gina and Brittanty had found a massive gorge as they explored the upper deck, it looked like there was a small ledge down below approximately where the lower level of the complex was located and then... nothing, pure blackness that seemed to go on forever.

Brittany stood beside her sister, looked over the edge of the chasm but suddenly stopped for a moment and cocked her head to the side. "Gina, do you hear that?"

Gina turned around and frowned at her sister. "Hear what?"

As Brittany turned around to answer her older sister her eyes widened as she saw a massive stone giant's raised fist ready to crush Gina. Racing forward, Brittany grabbed her sister who squawked in surprise at the rough treatment but was silenced as she saw the stone fist that would have crushed her hit the spot she had been standing. Both Diggers slowly backed away from the advancing enemies, knowing that they had no other option than to fight.

* * *

The shadowed figure was sitting comfortably, stretching out his sense to feel where his quarry was and if they were in danger. A sudden string of explosions and gunfire immediately caused the young man to use his abilities to pinpoint where they were.

"Yeah, I seriously doubt their blowing things up for fun. Let's see, two signals on the upper deck and one downstairs. The two upstairs have a better chance of holding out, I better help the one on the lower deck!" Standing swiftly, the man ran rapidly for the lower deck, passing a light that the Diggers had left to mark their entrance. If anyone had been their they would have seen a brief flash of blonde hair and determined blue eyes.

Break

Brianna growled as she remember the AMAZING suggestion that Brittany had made. 'Never, ever, listen to her suggestions again. ESPECIALLY concerning a unknown temple that could contain anything!'

Brianna was backing away from the six remaining golems by herself, all of the Peebos had been destroyed either by the golems or after they had used up their munitions they sacrificed themselves to try and stop the seemingly unstoppable creations. Brianna looked at the piles of rubble that her Peebo's had managed to destroy and noticed that the ones that had finally gone down seemed to have a flat black stone with silvery veins poking out of the piles of rubble. Brianna thought that she could see some kind of patterns on it but her observations were cut off by the large fist that was trying to take her head off. Throwing herself to the side, Brianna tried to catch her breath but realized too late she had stumbled right into a golem that had it's arm raised up. Brianna dropped her rifle, put up her arms up and her world exploded in white hot pain as the golem back handed her. Brianna screamed as she rolled along the hard stone floor, finally stopping as she hit a wall and groaned, her pain overriding her instincts that were telling her to run. Looking up with a pain filled grimace Brianna saw one of the golems lumber forward and raise it's arm, preparing to drop the final blow.

'Mom, Dad, Gina, Brit... I tried, I'm sorry but it looks like this is it for me... I'm gonna miss you all.' Brianna dropped her hands to her side and closed her eyes as the golem's fist flew towards her face. A sudden gust of wind and Brianna heard the loud smack of stone hitting flesh, but strangely enough she felt no pain. Opening her eyes in shock Brianna looked at the sight before her and felt tears appear in the corner of her eyes.

A young man was standing in front of her, a long red coat with black flames hung from his obviously strong shoulders. Brianna knew they had to be strong because he was holding back the fist that was going to end her life moments ago. With a loud chuckle the mystery man pulled the fist he had trapped towards him and lashed out with his free right hand, sending the golem tumbling back towards it's remaining companions. The mystery man turned back at Brianna and let out a sigh. "You ok back there? Sorry I wasn't here sooner, it took a while to find you."

Brianna blinked in confusion, old lessons that Gina had taken in college immediately translating the Japanese voice that she heard. Looking up Brianna thought she had died and gone to heaven. Blonde hair, piercing blue eyes and … were those whiskers? On anyone else said whiskers may have looked silly, but on the man in front of her they just seemed... right. Brianna nodded slowly, not trusting her voice to give her answer. One dazzling grin later the mystery man turned back towards the advancing golems, slowly walking towards them. The mystery man broke the silence again, finally introducing himself. "The name's Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto. Just sit tight and I'll get you all out of here, that's a promise of a lifetime."

Naruto looked at the advancing … what were they? Chakra puppets? Some kind of insane chakra experiment gone wrong? Some kind of scout from a subterranean species bent on world domination and the enslavement of the entire human race? 'Wait a minute, where did that last thought come from?'

Chuckling ruefully at his over active imagination, Naruto brought his hands forward and went to his ultimate technique, his bread and butter, his first real skill he ever had to handle this situation he found himself in. "Kage bushin no jutsu."

* * *

Brianna was in shock, she had to be, why else would she be hallucinating about a sexy, super strong hunk of a man named Naruto in the middle of no where. Said Naruto just happened to show up and save her from her imminent death... and why was her hallucination speaking in Japanese? 'I'm losing it, I must be, after everything I just went through my mind just shunted me to a happy place before I got hit, yeah, that must be it, I'm actually slowly dying and my imagination is... wait, what did Naruto just say? Kage whatsit now?'

Brianna's eyes widened to epic proportions and her jaw dropped when she saw multiple copies of the 'hallucination' leaping out of a smoke cloud in front of her and start to attack the half a dozen remaining golems. Before she could do anything else a final copy of Naruto rocketed out of the cloud towards her, picked her up in the classic bridal carry and ran away from the main fight. Bri's mind ground to a halt at the speed she was moving, this was almost as fast as Brit normally was, but more importantly Brianna was lost in the feeling of the solid muscle she was being cradled against, feeling his heart beating which blew the idea that this was not a real person out of the water. Looking up at the face above her, Bri studied the young man for a moment and came to a rapid conclusion

'Oh God, he is real. Mine... totally calling him, not letting anyone else get their claws into him first!'

Brianna looped her arms around Naruto's neck and smiled warmly as the you man jumped from the floor to a ledge that was on the far wall of the cavern. When they landed the young man put Bri down and all the young woman could think was, 'NO! PICK ME BACK UP!'

Bri looked back at the fight and couldn't help it, her jaw dropped at what she saw multiple copies of Naruto ripping into the golems, each of them dodging away from the powerful guardians as if they were standing still. Brianna watched as a pair used some type of short daggers to slice off the arms of a golem while a third one delivered a earth shattering blow to it's chest, sending it rocketing towards a wall.

"So, any weaknesses you can tell me about these things? I'll figure it out eventually but if you know anything I'd really appreciate the help." Bri turned towards Naruto's voice and stopped cold when his eyes focused on her, the twin sapphire orbs holding her attention and turning her insides into a pile of warm goo.

Naruto chuckled internally, he recognized that look. 'Well, looks like baa-chan was right, not even 5 minutes after I've revealed myself and already got a girl ready to chase after me, she always said one day I'd be a real lady killer. Eat your heart out Ero-sennin.'

Naruto watched as the pretty, 'Hell, pretty? Try beautiful, definitely deserves to be upgraded to that level!', girl pointed to a pile of rubble he noticed a black stone with silvery veins in the center of the rubble. "I think that stone is the focal point, take it out and it should just collapse."

Naruto hmm'ed softly, brought his hands back up in a cross and created another kage bunshin, the beautiful girl let out a small epp as the clone appeared then suddenly jumped to the pile she had been pointing at. "Ho-how did it know what you wanted it to do?"

Naruto looked at his companion with a huge grin, finally happy he had something he could explain to someone to show how awesome he was. "Kage bushin no jutsu, also known as shadow clones. I use my chakra to form it, it knows what I know and can do what I can do, meaning it knew that I wanted that ball before I even said it."

Looking back Naruto saw his clone return and hand him the stone, it had a large crack and after looking at it for only a moment he knew what was going on. "Fuin justu, I should have known. This is a piece of lodestone with multiple seals etched into it, it grabs rock with iron in it and attracts it to form a mobile shell around it, and let's see…. ah, it's been programmed to brutally kill anyone that enters without authorization. No worries, I break the stone and the thing shuts down, sounds easy enough, doesn't it?"

Naruto popped his clone and watched as the others suddenly changed tactics, quickly ganging up on their opponents and managing to rip out the cores for the golems and shatter them. The pretty girl seemed confused by what happened so Naruto took pity on her and explained what had happened "Shadow clones are also the greatest surveillance tool ever. Send one out, let it get the information and let it pop afterward and the original and any active clones know what the popped clone knew. As far as I know there's no limit to distance, I was getting info from clones I sent halfway around the world at one point."

Just as Naruto was about to keep going, he realized he had no idea what this girl's name was. Rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment, Naruto decided it was time to fix that. "By the way, I didn't catch your name. Of course, I could keep calling you pretty lady if you want."

Bri's blush glowed brighter than the sun as she thought about what just happened,

'First I'm rescued by a strong, hunk of a stranger, then I'm swept off her feet into his strong arms', which she could tell were very well formed, 'he has super powers and he's flirting with me? Oh, I so hit the jackpot, eat your heart out gir... oh shit.' As Naruto watched in confusion Bri scrambled around to touch something in her ear than, hoping that the others were still there. "GINA! What's going on over there! Something set off some defenses in the temple and well... I picked up some help that pulled me out of some hot water, what's your situation?"

Cut to Gina and Cheetah's fight

"TOTALLY SCREWED IS WHAT MY SITUATION IS! Get your butt over here and help us if your in the clear!" Gina was firing wildly as a dozen golems tried to rush her and Cheetah, hoping to force the two intruders off the ledge they were on. Cheetah's speed was keeping them busy for now as she took the fight to them, her lycanthrope enhanced muscles meaning that she could keep up with their attackers for now but that wouldn't last forever. A few of the smarter ones were already starting to head towards Gina, trying to distract Brittany and split her attention. Gina was firing continuously but the weapon she brought was barely scratching the surface of the golems the pair were facing.

'Why couldn't it be a elaborate puzzle or ancient computer system so I could my amazing brain to save us? But no, the last owners of this place had to go for the heavy handed brute strength approach! Grrrr, I hate my life soooo much right now!'

Back to Naruto and Bri

Naruto looks at the woman he had saved as his last set of clones finished the fight, destroying the last control stone and dispersing. Standing up Naruto looked at the worried expression on the woman's face and smiled as she looked up at him with a fearful expression. "So, what did they say is happening? I'm guessing they need a hand as well, right?"

Brianna nodded and looked down at the ground a dozen feet below her. "My sister's are on the upper deck and they're under attack, it's probably the same type of defenses you just destroyed. Please, help me save my sisters!"

Naruto grinned and picked the woman up in his arms again, a action he could see that the young woman in front of him enjoyed immensely. "Hah, like you have to ask? I couldn't leave knowing I let two young woman die in this hellhole, let's go save them... and I still don't know your name."

Brianna blushed and mumbled out, "Brianna."

Naruto grinned as he jumped down the floor and quickly ran off, saying, "Ah, a pretty name for a pretty girl. How fitting."

Turning around Naruto immediately began to run through the abandoned lower levels and Brianna was surprised that he seemed to already know where to go. "Wait, how do you know where they are? And how do you even know where you are going?"

Naruto grinned and chuckled as he dodged boulders and stalagmites in his way, diverting part of his attention to answer the questions Brianna had asked. "On how I know where your sister's are, trade secret, I'll tell you one day. As for how I know where I am going, I've been in several locations like this before... the person that designed it didn't really have much of an imagination so all of the locations like this are built the same. We'll find a tunnel about five hundred meters ahead and that will take us to a massive chasm at the end of it. That'll be out ticket to the top levels and your sister's without backtracking."

Brianna was surprised when the prediction of Naruto came true, a tunnel was right in front of them and he sped up as he entered it, not even worried that he would run into something. 'How can he know what a complex that is from the era of Mu is like? Is he a archeologist like Gina and me


	2. Chapter 2

Ok, time for an author note!

First off, guys, please review. I;m not a review junkie but helps me know if people like the story, if they have ideas, if it's terrible etc. So if people can leave some reviews that would be awesome

That being said, thanks to Kalbario, Quathis, Challenger and daniel29 for your reviews and in response to what you said Challenger... maybe, we'll see

Second, all things will be explained in the next chapter or two on how Naruto got to where he is and what the heck is going on, so for now just sit back and enjoy the ride!

Chapter 2

Gina growled in frustration as the golems continued to advance, neither Cheetah's strength nor her weapons were keeping them down for the count, it looked like this was a no win scenario.

'Damn it, I hate Kobayashi Maru situations, they always leave a bad taste in my mouth.'

"Cheetah, pull back, we're blowing this Popsicle stand now!"

Brittany, aka Cheetah, skidded to a stop as she dodged another golem's clumsy attack and looked at Gina like she'd grown another head.

"Gina, are you insane? It took half an hour just get here! I don't think these guys are gonna just leisurely let us leave, they're gonna be chasing up the entire way out!"

Gina knew her sister was right but what other choice did they have? Just as Gina was about to tell Brittany again that they needed to run her words died in her mouth as a golem stopped in front of her

"ZOINKS!"

Gina felt a rough hand grab her and lift her up, lifting her up to the the glowing eyes of the golem that held her. It reared it's hand back and threw her from the top of the cliff they were on, a cry of "GINA, NOOOOO!" caused her to look over at the terrified face of her sister before she fell out of her line of sight. 'FORCEFIELD BELT, FORCEFIELD BELT, FORCEFIE...ah shit, that's not good!'

Gina, finally remembering she was wearing her force field belt, (Remember kids, even though your a genius, that doesn't mean you can't do stupid shit sometimes)activated her invention, calculating the amount of damage she'd take with it from a hundred foot drop. When she looked down she paled considerably since the golem hadn't thrown her towards the ledge, oh no, it had thrown her into the chasm. At this time her thought process was something like this...

'YOU DAMNED GOLEM! ALL OF MY HATE!'

Just as Gina was about to fall past the ledge she saw Brianna and some hunk that was carrying her (Yes, even in mortal peril Gina's hormones still get the better of her). Just as she was falling out of her sister's eyesight she heard Bri scream "NO, GINA!" and try and reach for her, but it was no use, she was too far away

'Sorry Sis, looks like your going to have to be the one to keep Brit out of trouble from now on... I wonder how far I'll fall, will it be the velocity that does me in or will I hit sharp rocks on my way down...hang on, why is that hunk jumping after me?'

* * *

Naruto bit back a curse as he watched one of the girls he was supposed to protect fall into a chasm. The only thought going through his mind was,

'Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me...' Setting down Bri quickly, Naruto dove off the ledge they were standing on, a hasty "STAY HERE!" kept Bri rooted to the spot he left her at as he dove down the chasm. He straightened out his body to lower wind resistance, but when that didn't let him catch up he spun around so he was facing the ceiling and shouted, "FUTON: DAITOPPA!" (Wind release: Great Breakthrough )

Naruto was blown back by the powerful wind technique, by the time he spun around again he was passing the girl he was trying to rescue. Another Daitoppa aimed at the far wall catapulted Naruto towards the falling Gina and he grabbed her just before they collided. Reaching out for the wall, Naruto winced as he thought, 'Ah hell, this is gonna hurt!'

Naruto braced himself as he slammed into the wall, his chakra stopping him and Gina from falling further down. Looking at the frightened girl held in his arm Naruto sighed and looked down. "Think you can get on my back so I can get us out of here?"

Gina nodded quickly and started to slowly move herself to Naruto's back as he analyzed the situation. While he was waiting for her to follow his instructions, he heard some rustling below him in the pit.

'Wait, that's not just a rustling sound, there's also a... No, no no no no no... please don't a nest of...' The sound changed tone to a loud hissing and Naruto knew he was right, even before he looked down. Naruto woodenly looked below him and bit back a curse at what was below him just as he felt the girls arms wrap around his neck( and two other wonderful weights press against his back). 'Ah mother fu... Sound, why does it always have to be a Sound base where this happens?'

Naruto looked through chakra enhanced eyes and saw snakes, thousands of snakes below him, and not just any snakes, these were all summons. This of course meant the smallest was about the size of a garter snake and the largest was one just below Manda's size. Looking back over his shoulder at the girl that had finally followed his instructions, he whispered to her, "You so OWE me for this, dattebayo."

'These girls were lucky they're hot', not that Naruto wouldn't have saved them but it sure didn't hurt they were smoking. Thinking back to the run to get to the other two he grinned for a moment as he remembered what he had been told about Brianna's sisters

Flashback

Naruto was still holding Brianna in his arms and was running as fast as he could towards the others he was about to rescue. Brianna was giving Naruto a quick rundown on the other girls and what to expect from each of them. "Gina's the real mastermind behind all of these excursions, total genius in multiple fields, if you ever need help with something scientific and I'm not around, she's the one to talk with. Only problem is she has zero combat abilities, like none at all. Now Brittany, she's the real muscle behind the group. Goes by the nickname Cheetah and believe me you'll see why when you meet her. Very strong, very fast on her feet but not as smart as either myself or Gina. She's not stupid but she lets us to the heavy thinking and she does the lifting. And me? Me, I'm a little of both really."

Naruto smiled as he dodged stalagmites, (HAH! Bet you didn't think I knew any big words, but I do! Course, having it pounded into my head by Sakura-chan helped... oh the pain and suffering I went through for a better vocabulary! ALL YOU TEACHERS OF THE ACADEMY, DAMN YOU FOR NOT TEACHING ME PROPERLY!) until Brianna's worried voice penetrated his thoughts. "Naruto? Are you OK, you got really quite there for a moment."

Naruto shook himself from his thoughts and nodded quickly, motioning with his chin at an archway in the cave wall. "Everything is fine, I think that's where we need to go, time for some more speed!"

Just as he put on a burst of acceleration they passed through to the other side of the archway he saw another hot (again, not his fault, all of his teachers were perverts, as if he wouldn't get a bit of that being exposed to it all the time!) girl falling down a very large, very black chasm.

"I'm guessing that's one of the girls we came to save right? Gonna take a wild guess and say it's probably Gina from your description." When his passenger yelled, "NO, GINA!", Naruto realized that not only was he right but he was probably going to have to probably go through some crazy series of events to save the falling girl

Oh how right he was.

End Flashback

Gina cocked her head to the side in surprise as the young man spoke to her in an ancient dialect of Japanese. It was so dark she couldn't make anything out about the person that saved her life but he defiantly worked out, that much she could tell. Also she knew was that he was bat shit insane to jump after her like that. "I don't understand what you mea..."

Suddenly she heard a sound she didn't think that she'd want to ever hear again. The sound of scaled bodies rubbing over each other and a sibilant sound finally reached her ears and she squeaked in her rescuer's ear. "Snakes?!"

Feeling her rescuer nod slowly, she wasn't prepared for the insane thing he told her next.

"I need you to stay right there and not move at all. I'm going to get you all out of this and when this is done we are having a VERY long talk about this whole situation. Now, your going to be sent back to the top of this chasm while I take care of these snakes." Gina's eyes widened as the order was given and shook her head rapidly into the stranger's back, thinking she was going to have to climb out alone and the sheer though terrified her, what if she fell?

She quietly replied back, "No! Just climb out with me, quietly and slowly and they won't know we're here! Besides, there's no way they can reach us"

Gina could feel the young man's eyes on hher as he looked behind him. "They already know. You can't fool a summon animal like that. And the largest one is 60 feet long, more than enough to grab us where we are right now."

Summon animal? What's in the world was a Summon animal?

* * *

Naruto sighed as he clung on the side of the wall he was holding onto, his Chakra glowing dully as it held him up. "Don't worry, it'll be fine, Gina right? Just hold on while I get this set up and DON'T move."

Naruto decided that the best way out of this was through his tried and true method... total overkill with prodigious amounts of chakra used. After all, what good is it being a battery of energy if you never use it. Taking a deep breath Naruto became still as nature and drew in the energy surrounding him. Naruto began to balance the natural energy along with his spiritual and physical energy, remembering lessons from long ago that put him into a mode that struck fear into so many ninja and made him a true force to be reckoned with,

Sennin Modo

Feeling the energy around him, he could feel the girl on his back, Brianna on top of the ledge he had leapt off of and the third sister he still had to meet was savagely fighting above them all. Naruto created 3 new kage bushin and reaching behind him he pulled Gina off of his back and handed her off to one of his clones. Naruto heard Gina gasp when another person appeared beside them but she wouldn't take her eyes off of Naruto, silently pleading with him to come with her. Gina refused to let go but Naruto managed to pry her loose and place her on the back of his clone. Naruto smiled as he gave his orders to the clone he made. "Get her out of here while I take care of this. You two, you know what to do."

Naruto watched Gina shake her head frantically as she reached for him, but she stopped as he raised his hand and gathered chakra there for one of his most devastating techniques. Awe was reflected in her eyes as she saw the light blue energy form into a sphere and Naruto took the time before the technique was complete to try and calm her down. "It's alright, I'll be right behind you, I promise."

* * *

Gina looked on in awe as the young man in front of her gathered energy in the palm of his hand and the inner geek of her's jumped to the front as she tried to see what exactly he was doing. Suddenly the body she had been placed on started to jump back and forth between the wall her rescuer had been hanging from to the far wall, a feat that shocked her greatly. 'But... but the far wall is at least fifty feet away from us! How is he able to reach it by just jumping!'

Gina had no idea what was going on anymore and decided to just hang on for the ride and worry about the details later. Finally her ride took her to the top and she could finally see who pulled her out of that pit.

"Wait a minute, you look just like the guy that jumped in after me! What's going on here?!" Gina was pointing at the young man in front of her and back in the chasm and while nothing was coming out of her mouth, her brain was going a mile a minute trying to make sense of the situation. Brianna ran over to her sister and saved her from a brain overload when she said,

"Naruto! Thank you so much for saving my sister! Wait a minute, what's with that blue light down there?" Naruto looked back and saw that the original was ready to put the plan into motion and decided it would be a good idea to warn the girls.

"Hey Brianna, might want to tell Brittany to hold onto something and you two might want to do it as well." Gina looked behind her and realized the blue light she saw earlier was now bright enough to see from the top of the chasm. She peered over the edge while Brianna used her comlink to let Brittany know Gina was OK and to hang onto something and watched as three identical people (Binoculars, adventurers never leave home without them) had their hands held up right under that same blue energy she saw before.

Suddenly 2 of them disappeared and the final young man vaulted off of the wall he was hanging from with a flawless back flip that rocketed him towards the far wall. After he had made a complete rotation he threw what looked like a bright blue shuriken at the snake nest. Once he hit the wall he quickly bounded up towards the girls and tackled them back away the edge with a yelled, "GET DOWN!"

Moments after he tackled the girls away from the edge a huge explosion went off. Gina and Bri both screamed as massive gusts of wind ripped at their clothes and nearly pulled them away from the man that saved them both, but he refused to let them go. Once the winds dies down Gina looked up and was about to give the jerk a piece of her mind for the way he had been treating her since she saw him when the words dies in her mouth after her first clear look at the hunk in front of her. The fact she could see his well defined muscles through his clothes changed her thoughts from ripping him a new one to,

'I've died and gone to heaven, haven't I? Oh yes, Gina likes, Gina likes VEEERY much!' Just as she was about to thank the man for saving her, Brianna looked up as well and pointed at the young man's face in surprise. "Naruto, what's happened to your eyes!"

Gina looked at said eyes and nearly gasped in shock. The orange lining around his eyes wasn't so strange, but the actual eyes themselves were. 'They almost look like a frog's eyes, or a toad's, what in the world?' Naruto smiled at both of them disarmingly, causing both of them to nearly swoon.

"It's alright, just a side effect of the technique I'm using. To be honest, I'm better at this than my last master, he more problems than different looking eyes. Be right back, time to grab go Brittany." At Brianna slow nod Naruto stood up, took a few deep breaths then pulled his arms across his chest to stretch them out and then ran towards the hundred foot tall wall that had Brittany at the top. Before he reached the wall he made a large leap towards it and landed about twenty feet up the wall and to Gina's shock he stood up as if gravity meant nothing to him then proceeded to RUN UP THE WALL! Gina looked at her sister in shock, her mouth rapidly opening and closing as if she was trying to say something but Brianna beat her to the punch

"Sis, I have no idea how he does it, I've learned to just accept that pretty much anything is possible for this guy. Don't worry, Brit's gonna be fine."

* * *

Cheetah held on for dear life while the winds around her tried to blow her off the edge of the cliff, the golems were hunkered down and waiting for the wind to stop before they attacked the tired were-cheetah. Just as she stood, ready to face the creatures that nearly killed her sister, she saw a shadow behind her. Turn around quickly she looked in awe as a cute guy was standing on the ceiling as if he was waiting for a bus on a street corner. "Hey, Brittany right? Could you move a little to the left please? Yeah, I'm gonna guess from the blank look you have no idea what I am saying, do you? Well, maybe hand signs'll work? Perfect, thanks."

Brittany was confused at what he was trying to say, what language was he speaking? The young man sighed, realizing that Brittany didn't understand a word and started to make hand signs at her, finally making her understand he wanted her to move to the left a little, which she did do. Before she could even wonder why he wanted her to move the young man rocketed towards where she had been standing. The moment his feet touched the ground he launched himself towards the group of golems. He lashed out with a straight right to the nearest golem, pierced it's shell and pulled out a silvery stone that he showed to Brittany, crushed it in his hand and walked away from the golem he had hit. Moments later it fell apart and Brittany understood that he was showing her their weakness. With a feral grin Brittany run up beside the young man, cracked her knuckles and smirked at the new arrival.

Needless to say with the extra help and the knowledge of the golem's weak point the fight only lasted a few more minutes. Looking at the young man Brittany pointed to herself and said, "Cheetah."

Cheetah then pointed at the young man hoping that he understood what she wanted him to do. Said young man grinned and pointing to himself, his grin lighting up his face. "Naruto."

And so one of the best friendships ever was born.

* * *

Brianna and Gina continued to watch the spot where Naruto had disappeared for a few moments after all noise from above them had ended, the next thing they saw was Naruto with Cheetah on his back slowly making his way down from the top of the cliff. Once Naruto was down he was mobbed by the two sisters not currently holding onto him and grinned as they asked the burning questions they wanted answered ever since they first saw the strange young man.

"What the heck was that glowing blue thing? It went off like a huge bomb! And how the heck did you run up the wall and stick to the ceiling? Can you teach me, please?"

"Do you have a girlfriend yet? And if not, I volunteer for the position!"

Gina looked at Brianna in shock, her expression tinged with anger and envy that she hadn't thought to say the same thing first. Cheetah just looked confused by the whole situation, not able to understand a single word any of them just said.

Naruto looked at the girls in front of him and decided to accommodate them by answering their questions. "Rasenshuriken, chakra and no it's a little complicated to learn how to use it for most people these days. I don't have a girlfriend, we should talk about that later maybe, But first thing we need to do is... uh oh. Um... I think Imma gonna crash right here... yeah, that sounds like a great idea... Brianna? Could you pretty ladies catch me? I really don't feel like face planting into the ground right about now. Thanks, now good night pretty ladies, wake me up if we're about to die again."

Each girl watched in surprise as Naruto, the man who did the impossible several times already suddenly keeled over, his eyes rolling back in his head, Gina and Brianna immediately grabbed onto him before he hit the ground, checked to see if he was hurt, thankfully he was only asleep. They all looked at each other and nodded, Cheetah picked Naruto in a fireman carry as they began the long trek out of this deathtrap of an expedition. Brianna smirked evilly as she decided to make her intentions known to her sister. "Oh and Gina? I totally call first dibs on him, I did see him first after all."

Gina growled and lunged at Bri but was caught by Cheetah, her free hand snagging the back of Gina's shirt and the young woman dragged her her along until she promised not to attack her sister again.

* * *

Naruto groaned as he slowly awoke, a pleasant weight on his legs and an annoying, infernal beeping interrupting his wonderful dreams of the girls he had just rescued... at that last thought Naruto immediately sat up and realized he was in a bed, the beeping was from some kind of device that seemed to be monitoring him and the pleasant weight on his legs was a sleeping Bri. Just as he was about to reach over and wake her up the door opened and Gina walked in, a clipboard in her hands and dressed in... a nurses uniform?

"Ah! Your awake! I was beginning to worry when you didn't wake up after a few days. How do you feel?" Naruto smiled as he did a mental checklist of his body to see if there were any problems. Everything seemed to be in order, aside from his impromptu nap and so he delved into himself deeper, finding himself in front of an old set of bars in his body, the previous host apparently missing. In it's place a massive sphere of red energy was encased in a elaborate crystal cage that had no openings. He checked for any cracks but the cage appeared to be intact. Letting out a breath he had been holding he opened his eyes and looked into the concerned eyes of Gina and finally answered her.

"Well everything appears to be alright, but where the heck am I? Wait a minute, did you say days? How long was I out for?"

Gina grinned and help her arms out wide and began her introduction. "Welcome to the Digger Home/Compound, a technological marvel not found anywhere else in the world! And yes, you were out for 3 days, we were all getting worried for you, Brianna practically wouldn't leave your side."

Naruto laughed at how sincere and energetic Gina was in her introduction but he couldn't blame her. After all he had been in the home for the last few months getting to know the girls for the eventual day when they would meet. When he was told about Brianna not wanting to leave he looked down in surprise at the sleeping girl but his attention was focused back on Gina when she cleared her throat.

"Now, before I release you I need some basic information from you. Age?" Naruto looked a little nervous at this question, trying to decide how to best answer it.

"21."

"Height?"

"6 feet even."

"Weight?"

"170 pounds, or did you want kilos?"

Gina waved him off from his last question, made some notes on her clipboard and then asked the most important question of all for her. "And how big is your.."

"GINA!" Naruto grinned as Gina stuck her tongue out at her now awake and irate sister and winked at Naruto.

"Never mind, I got all the information I needed, I'm going to add you to the approved guest list so the security system leaves you alone." Naruto grinned and after he verified his boxers were still in place he swung his legs over the side of the bed and looked at Gina directly.

"Awesome, that means I won't need to keep making your security systems forget to scan sub basement 12 anymore." Both girls blinked slowly as what he said sunk in.

"Wait a minute, your the guy that's been doing that? How long have you been staying here?" Naruto got up and grabbed his clothes that were over the back of a chair nearby, not even caring that the two young women were ogling him in his current unclothed state.

"Well, I was hired 6 months ago by a woman named Julia Diggers to keep an eye on her daughters in case they... how did she put it? Oh yeah, got in over their heads again and needed someone to pull their asses outta the trouble they landed in." Naruto watched in amusement as both girls gave each other a look. Gina went to a large monitor on the wall and punched in a sequence of numbers. At the sound of a dial tone Naruto had a pretty good idea what was happening so he tried to make an exit but Brianna's iron grip on his arm stopped him cold.

"On no stud, your staying right here for the explanation."

Within moments Julia Diggers appeared on the screen and smiled at her daughters. "Gina! How are you all doing? What can I help you with?"

Gina pointed towards Brianna and Naruto and said in controlled anger, "You can explain why he's been living in our home for 6 months and we didn't know about it!"

Julia looked at Brianna, cocked her head to the side in confusion. "You've had a life size doll of a blond hair man living in your home for the last six months? Gina, not that I'm going to judge you but that's a little strange, even for you."

Gina and Bri both looked at Naruto and were surprised to find a full size doll that looked almost exactly like him in Bri's grasp. Gina glared at Bri but the half were-cheetah waved her hands frantically. "No way! I didn't let go of him at all! He should be right there!"

Meanwhile on the vid screen, Julia smiled knowingly as a familiar young man sat beside her. Said young man gave his patented grin and waved at the girls, causing both Gina and Bri to point at the screen and exclaim,

"That's him! That's the guy!"

"How the hell did he get over there! I had him in my grasp and never let go!"

Julia couldn't take it anymore, she erupted into laughter at the reactions of her daughters. "OK, OK, enough playing around, come over for dinner tonight, bring Brittany and Stripe if he's there, they'll want to hear this story, it's almost too impossible to believe."

With a final wave from Naruto Julia cut off the call. Both Brianna and Gina looked at each other and said at the same time, "He's mine, back off!"


	3. Chapter 3

Ok, so lots of explanation going on in this chapter, also if you didn't notice I made a change to chapter one, Naruto was in his red sage coat so as to make more sense with this chapter. To those that have reviewed, thank you. TO those that have not reviewed... I still thank you for reading the story but seriously a review would be much appreciated. So, on with the show!

* * *

Naruto leaned back against the crystal structure in his mind and smiled slightly as he heard another section of the lock open. There were over a thousand segments per ring and a dozen rings in total, more than enough to ensure the encased energy the structure held was kept safe until it could be released. After all, what kind of a partner would Naruto be if he didn't protect his last remaining comrade? "Don't worry old friend, you'll be out of there soon enough."

Feeling a hand on his knee Naruto opened his eyes and his mind scape fell away, his now open eyes focusing on Julia's concerned face. "Is everything alright Naruto?"

Yawning loudly Naruto bounded to his feet and nodded once."Yep, just starting the process to wake the furball up, it's finally safe to do so."

Julia looked at him with a worried expression and voiced her concerns. "Are you really sure it's alright to let him out? After all, all the legends I have heard about him describe him as a natural disaster, an unstoppable force of chaos and destruction."

Naruto grinned and nodded, knowing that was exactly what his partner was. "Yep, that's him alright! He's my Aibou, that's for sure! Don't worry, he's.. mellowed a bit."

Julia grinned at the exuberant outburst and laid a hand on Naruto's arm, causing him to look at her in confusion. "Julia?"

Said woman sighed and stared directly into Naruto's eyes and asked the question that had been burning in the back of her mind the moment they had started on this venture. "Are you going to tell them everything?"

Naruto's joy slowly vanished and a solemn visage adorned his face as he slowly nodded. "I can't keep it from them, that's how things go wrong in relationships people, even friendly ones. Secrets have a way of poisoning someone. I'll tell them after dinner tonight, let them have some fun before we show them the darkness of the world."

Chapter 3

Gina watched in amusement as Brianna tore through her closet, looking for the perfect outfit to impress Naruto.

'Wow, she's putting in a lot of effort with this guy... Not that I'm not, I already know what I'm going to be wearing.' Stepping out of her sister's room, Gina entered the living room in the middle of Cheetah explaining to her boyfriend what happened to them several days ago.

"And he just shows up outta nowhere and POW! Punched right through the golem, ripped out this silver ball and after letting me get a look at it he crushed it like it was nothing! He was almost too fast for me to follow, he's an amazing fighter! I can't wait to spar with him!" Stripe smiled indulgently at the vibrating ball of energy in his lap and held her in his arms as she went on and on about this mystery man he was going to meet tonight.

"Well I can't wait to meet him and give him my thanks for saving you all. He sounds like quite the fighter, I may have to go a round or two with him myself." Cheetah grinned as she softly kissed Stripe and cuddled in closer to him.

"I dunno, we may have to fight off my sisters to even get a moment with him, ever since we brought him back they've been giving each other this weird, calculating stare, nothing sinister but almost like they were sizing each other up... it's kinda unnerving." Gina chuckled from the doorway of the living room and sat down in one of their recliners, crossed her arms under her breasts and smiled warmly.

"Now now little sister, it's all part of the chase. I need to make sure the 'competition' knows that she doesn't have free reign on our new... 'friend'." Cheetah giggled and mouthed 'Friend?' as she remembered the antics that had been happening over the last few days while Naruto was asleep.

"Oh yeah, like when you tried to lock Bri out of the medlab when she went to freshen up? Or when Bri went and reprogrammed your hurtbot's to disassemble your lab so that she could spend some uninterrupted time looking at the sleeping hunk?" Gina's flushed cheeks told the whole story as she remember the immature but ultimately harmless pranks the two had been playing on each other since they had made it home.

"Grumble grumble... stupid prank ruined a week long experiment... grrrr." Both Stripe and Cheetah couldn't hold back their laughter as the young genius stewed in her memories, they both trailed off as Bri finally made an appearance.

"So, what do you think?" Cheetah smiled and gave a thumbs up, Gina gave Bri a halfhearted glare and Stripe merely said, "I'm getting the feeling that from now on, nothing we do will ever be boring again."

* * *

Naruto was sitting on his bed in the guest room, looking at the clothes that had been laid out for him and the smiling face of his employer. "Seriously? Even back when I was about to become Hokage I never wore anything like that!"

Julia chuckled as she nodded her head and pointed at the reluctant shinobi. "Yes, I'm as serious as a heart attack. My girls are going through a lot of trouble to try and impress you so I think you can reward them for their efforts. Dinner will begin in an hour, I expect you to be ready to meet them when they arrive." Naruto sighed as the mother of said girls left him alone in his room then looked at the pile of clothing one more time.

"She's just like Baa-chan, always has to have it done her way or POW! Good ting it was her that was able to find me. Well... at least the outfit has orange in it." Deciding to get this over with, Naruto headed to his private bathroom to grab a quick shower and get ready.

* * *

Just as 5 o'clock rolled around the door opened and Julia smiled as her children (and Stripe) entered her home. Theo was beside her and they both smiled as their family come back into their home, glad that they were all safe and sound. Julia grinned as her eldest and newest daughter's choice of evening wear.

'Oh boy, is Naruto in for a treat tonight! That'll teach him to lay on the charm without realizing it.' While Brittany was dressed in a cute sun dress and Stripe was wearing a fitted dress shirt with a pair of dress pants, the other two arrivals had put in a bit more work with their wardrobe

Gina was decked out in a slinky bare shouldered black dress that hugged her curves and showed off just a hint of cleavage, while Brianna's dress was a deep purple one shoulder number that clung to her very well developed body. Both girls were absolutely giddy as they had been told to expect a surprise when they arrived. Just as Julia and Theo walked forward to stand with the rest of the family, Naruto made his way down the stairs and both girls froze at the sight of him.

* * *

'I knew this was a bad idea, I feel so stupid wearing this!' Naruto groaned mentally as he descended the stair at the attire that Julia had found for him. He was happy with the black longcoat with burnt orange flames running along the bottom, but the rest of the outfit of a loose long sleeve green shirt and brown cargo pants just weren't him. But, as soon as he saw the looks he was getting from Gina and Brianna he chuckled softly. 'Well, maybe this isn't so bad... looks like the don't mind the different look.'

Naruto did have to admit his normal clothes were getting a little... well, ragged, maybe it was time for a change?

* * *

Julia raised her hand with a flourish and announced, "May I present the 6th Hokage of Konoha, Uzumaki Naruto."

Each of the guests looked on in confusion at the introduction, except for Gina and Brianna. Brianna didn't quite remember what Konoha meant, several of her inherited memories that she got from Gina were a little fuzzy, but Gina knew exactly what her mother was referring to. Gina slowly brought her hands to her mouth to cover her shock and hold in a fangirlish squeal, her mind raced a mile a minute at the news she had heard.

'Konoha?! But.. but it's a legend, a place that no one has ever been able to prove actually existed! Every other legendary place has something that links back to them, El Dorado, Shangri-La, even Atlantis! But nothing has ever been linked to Konoha, how can Naruto be from a place that shouldn't exist, that's impossible! What in the world is going on here?' Julia put her arm around her eldest daughter and led everyone to the dining room as she continued to speak.

"I know what your thinking Gina, don't worry, everything will be explained after dinner, just enjoy this time to get to know each other without impending doom hanging over your head, ok?" Looking at her mother Gina nodded as tears came to her eyes and she hugged her.

"Thanks mom, first you find a hot guy to guard us, then you tell me he's related to one of the most obscure and ancient legends ever and you tell me to wait? Have you been taking lessons from Penny on how to push my buttons?" At the laughter this comment made the group finally entered the dinning room and sat down for the feast laid out for them.

* * *

Despite the fact that the families were dressed in a more upscale manner, as soon as dinner started this facade collapsed as they all began to share stories with each other about their funniest moments and adventures. A quick short term spell allowed everyone to finally understand Naruto and he decided to relate the first thing he could think of that would be a safe topic without spoiling anything they wanted to discuss later on. This of course was the story of how he managed to cover the Hokage faces in graffiti and lead the Anbu on a merry chase across the village. "So here I was, a thirteen year old kid leading our special forces of the village on a wild goose chase for hours! Not a single one could catch me, in the end it was my first real teacher, Iruka-sensi that finally stopped the insanity by catching me and took me back to the academy!"

The entire Digger clan laughed uproariously as the descriptions Naruto made of the event and after they slowly finished their desserts amidst chuckles from the good times that were shared, the group made it's way to the living room for the discussion they had been waiting to start. Gina looked like she was ready to explode with questions so Naruto decided to take pity on her. "Gina, I know your dying to ask me questions so go ahead, but try and keep them to one at a time ok? "

At Naruto's grin Gina's cheeks reddened again and she fixed him with a half hearted glare. "Explain to me how you can be from Konoha, no one has ever found anything from the village itself and most think it's a fairy tail created to excite children."

Naruto sighed as slowly rubbed the back of his neck, knowing that this was going to be a long night. "Konoha really did exist, it's not a fairy tail... at least not to me. I am from the continent that Konoha was part of, as well as many other countries, we were collectively know as the Elemental Nations, or as people from other continents called it, the land of Mu. Many of our people had similar abilities to what I showed you when I rescued you three in that outpost several days ago, some as strong as myself but that was pretty rare. Almost all the separate countries had a Hidden village, each the main location of their shinobi forces. The strongest of each main Hidden village was know as a Kage, a Shadow with a particular element tied to his name. Konoha had the Fire Shadow, the Hokage. And when I was 21 years old I was supposed to take my place as the 6th Hokage."

Naruto smiled softly as he remembered that day all those years ago. "I remember it like it was yesterday, my father was the 4th hokage and I was basically following in his footsteps. I was trying to become a seal master like he was so I could protect those people that were precious to me that much better. I was working on a new type of space/time seal that could phase a location out of sight to better protect our homes and loved ones. But something went wrong, when I tried to activate the new seal there was a massive explosion of energy and the next thing I knew I was in a strange land, one I had never seen before. But, there was an even bigger issue. No one could see, hear or touch me. I was out of phase with everything living in that world."

Theo and Julia already knew the story but even they knew how hard it was for the carefree young man to bare his soul to everyone here. The children were all leaning forward, absorbing every word that had been said and desperately waiting for more. "It was hard not even knowing the language that was spoken but I eventually managed to understand a few things. The world I was in was called Jade and there were no shinobi in that world at all. I was truly the only one of my kind there."

At this all the girls began to sniffle softly and he smiled at them. "Now now, that doesn't mean I was alone. You see... I really hate talking about this part, but I can't leave you girls in the dark. I'm a jinchuriki, a human sacrifice that was made to protect my home from a unimaginable being of destruction, Kurama, the nine tailed demon fox."

Naruto the went back and explained how his life was because of the being sealed inside of him, the fear of the citizens, the violence and petty forms of revenge that were taken against him in the form of over charging and keeping him isolated from almost everyone in the village. Naruto felt a surge of warmth as he watched the various reactions from his listeners, Julia, Brittany and Brianna all looked like they wanted to get their hands on the long dead villagers, Stripe gave him a look of complete admiration and Gina? Gina was nearly bawling like a little girl at the description. Things took a turn for the better when he started to talk about his career as a shinobi when he finally was acknowledged and given the respect he should have had as a protector of the village. He finally ended this part of his tale with how he became the most powerful and revered man in his village due to his mastering of sage mode, his heroics in the war against Tobi and Madara and turning Kurama into a valued comrade of the Leaf.

"So after a few days in Jade Kurama and myself felt something was off. It wasn't till later we realized that the fox's youki was slowly depleting. Apparently he had a link to the natural energy here on Earth to maintain a balance and keep him alive. But when we were flung into Jade that link was cut, meaning that his chakra was being thrown out of balance and he was slowly fading away. I managed to create a containment seal inside of my body using my original holding seal for Kurama so I could save my partner. Kurama wouldn't lose any more youki, but he would be trapped in stasis, meaning I would be truly alone again. Before he went under we agreed I would use a seal to force myself into hibernation for ten years, I would then wake up for a year and see if I was able to find a way for us to return home. We both realized I was somehow not aging so we could take as long as we needed to find a way home."

Naruto decided to sit down for the rest of the story and watched as everyone's eyes were rivted on him, completely entranced by the tale.

"I slept for over thirteen thousand years and was awake for almost fifteen hundred, all by myself. On the last yearly cycle I had exhausted every possible idea I could think of and was no closer to getting back home. I had found a method we could use to return home but I had no way to form the needed tether to this world and no way to get someone else to do it, that's a little hard when you can't be seen or heard. I... I was ready to give up and fall asleep for eternity when I realized that I had no way home, I had finally given up. But the very next day, a miracle happened. Since nothing could touch me I had no reason to move out of the way of people in my path as a wandered Jade, but of course someone had to mess this up. A strong tomboy of a woman walked right into me and we both fell down. The fact that she could touch me nearly caused me to pass out in shock, I hadn't had any human contact in centuries! But, the fact she had grabbed me by the collar and was shaking me like a rag doll quickly woke me up and I impulsively grabbed her. I still remember the pain when you threw me on the ground after that!"

The girls giggled as Julia blushed and pointed an accusing finger at Naruto. "HEY! I had just been banished to Jade, I was so pissed off! Are you still holding that against me?"

Laughing loudly Naruto shook his head. "No way, I'm too grateful to every be pissed off at you! Anyways, we think that Julia's being out of phase from earth somehow allowed her to see and interact with beings that were like her, even if others couldn't see them, but there was still a small problem. Julia couldn't understand me at all and I couldn't understand her, so I did the only thing I could think of. Follow her and make an unholy nuisance of myself until she got so pissed off that she tried to learn my language or find some way to understand me."

Julia crossed her arms under her bust and grinned ruefully as she stood behind the sofa the others were lounging on. "That's right, Blondie here was an unholy terror and I was the only one that could see him, I finally got so fed up with him I convinced a archmage to cast a translation weave over me so I could understand him. Once that was done the first thing he did was beg for forgiveness then tell me why his was being such a nuisance. Needless to say I couldn't just leave him on his own so he traveled with me as we tried to figure out a way to get him and myself back home. Even Theo didn't have any ideas when I explained the situation to him on my first day back on Earth."

Theo nodded slowly as he added his two cents. "The fix was simple really, Naruto has a way to traverse space and time, but because of his out of phase nature he had to prime the key to someone that could go to Earth, which meant Julia since she was the only one that he could pass it to. That wasn't the problem , the real issue was that his key required a week on Earth to build up enough of a charge of natural energy to phase him back into reality and transport him to Earth. Your mother tried to give me the item but as soon as she placed it in my hand it would pass through my fingers and the second it would hit the ground it would appear in Julia's hand again. We tried everything I could think of to pass the key to me but nothing worked. Julia was the only one that could hold ir so Naruto couldn't return until your mother did. So, really Naruto has Gina and Brianna to thank for being here"

Julia smiled broadly and placed her hands on both of her shocked daughters bare shoulders. "Yep, a week after these two geniuses managed to free me, I used his key to pull Naruto back home. I still remember that day, first words out of his mouth were 'Ra..Ramen..." and he keeled over. HAH!"

After this last addition to the story everyone in the room broke down in chuckles, even the man who had passed out asking for food. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up woman, just you wait till I get you back. Now where were we? Oh yeah, so I came back, recuperated here for a few weeks and then your mom decided to hire me as a... what did we decide to call it? Oh yeah, Digger Expedition Troubleshooter. Unless you were in some kind of life threatening danger I was to keep out of sight and let you do your thing, of course we all know how that went."

Gina was literally bouncing in her seat as she got Naruto's attention. "But Kurama! What happened to Kurama?"

Naruto laughed, imagining that this was how Gina was like when she was a kid. 'So cute.'

"Well, Kurama is still with me, I had to wait till I made a complete connection back to the Earth's natural energy field, that's why I passed out when we finished the fight, the last link drained me of all my chakra and I crashed, hard. I'm in the process of letting him free, it'll take a little while but hey, what's a few more months after all this time? And that, ladies and gentlemen,. is the whole story. So, any questions?"

Review. Please. I beg you, please review :)


	4. Chapter 4

To anyone that likes Ryan Tabbot... your probably gonna hate me after this, we got some serious bashing of the man coming up in this chapter. Never did like his character that much so yeah, he's getting put down hard very early in my story. He'll still be around but a bit more subdued. Also, decided to give a definite time frame when this series is taking place. Currently we're in the last 3 months or so of 2008 and as some may have noticed I did introduce the Peebos very early, changed the first Chap slightly to make then an experimental version of the normal run of the mill Peebos from later.

Anyways, on with the fic!

* * *

It had been a week since the family dinner where Naruto laid out most of his cards on the table about his origins and a good number of secrets. Many were surprised that he was willing to tell them so much but his only response was, "Didn't want to have the same mistake happen twice. It's better that the people that I'm most concerned about, all of you, know who and what I am."

Everyone promised that everything he had revealed that night would stay between them, for which Naruto was extremely grateful. Since then the four young people in the Digger home were learning to live together and make the situation succeed. Obviously some days were better than others, today was one of bad ones as the girls had not seen hide nor hair of Naruto at all since yesterday.

Brianna was currently walking down the hallway of the lower levels of their home towards sub basement 12, the area that Naruto had claimed as his 'workshop'. Originally it was a storage room, but using a few handy storage scrolls Naruto had been able to open up the space and add in some needed equipment. After their initial inspection of the newest member of the household's new workspace the girls left him to his own devices, that is until they decided he needed to get out more and took him with their family and friends out for the day yesterday. Brianna grinned as she remembered all the fun they had at the beach that Gina had discovered... well, that is until there was a 'tiny' disagreement. After that it all went downhill from there and Naruto had quickly vanished.

As Bri quietly opened the door to her final destination she saw her quarry inspecting several small knives, sharpening the ones that required them then placing them onto an unrolled scroll when their maintenance was complete. A quick trio of hand signs and the weapons were sealed back into the scroll, causing the young woman to shake her head in amazement. "I really wish there was a way for me to learn how to do that, it looks like such a useful skill."

* * *

Not taking his eyes from the last weapon he was inspecting Naruto chuckled softly and nodded. "Yeah, I can't count the number of time's it's come in handy over the years."

As Naruto finished checking the throwing weapon for any damage, he glanced over at Brianna and with a hand twitch the blade dropped to the table. The cause of the hand twitch was the clothing that Brianna showed up at his workshop wearing... or rather, the lack of clothing she had on.

Brianna smiled sultrily as she stepped inside and Naruto got a close up look at the girl's fashion choices, her legs were bare and the only thing covering her was a short silky housecoat that was tied tightly across her waist but was open enough up top to give him a tantalizing view of her breasts. Grinning at his shell shocked expression the half were-cheetah pulled Naruto from the stool he was seated on towards a couch he had managed to get down here. After sitting him down she cuddled up next to him and sighed. Ever since he had revealed himself, the girls had learned he loved any form of physical contact, which made sense after being with out it for so long. Naturally, Gina and Brianna abused this privilege at every opportunity. Even Brittany got in on the act from time to time, though her contact was a much more platonic version. "Ah, much better. Now, tell me what's wrong and don't even bother trying to get out of it."

Naruto closed his eyes and sighed. "Oh I don't know, maybe the fact that Gina is pissed off at me from keeping something important from her?" Brianna nodded as she remembered the events that lead to the current situation.

Chapter 4

It had been in the works for over a week, people were invited, food was purchased and the necessary supplies gathered. Finally, everyone was ready. It was time to visit... the beach!

Naruto was leaning against the wall and watched the controlled anarchy as Brianna and Gina were going over what they needed to bring while occasionally looking over towards the relaxed shinobi. Brittany walking past Naruto with Stripe slung over her shoulder was the highlight of the day so far, the young prince d1oing his best to appeared dignified as his girlfriend insisted on embarrassing him. At that sight he couldn't take it anymore and he burst out laughing. Waving at Theo and Julia as the pair entered the lab, he noticed a young man in a full body suit that was with them. "I bet that's Séance, seems like a nice guy. And there's Genn, she better keep under control around me this time, crazy little Rakshasa that she is.'

Naruto couldn't help but grin as he remembered the first meeting with Genn, she instantly turned in a well developed woman and leapt at Naruto, surprising him so much he didn't even try and dodge. It took both Gina and Brianna to pry her away from Naruto, afterward Genn embarrassingly explained why she reacted the way she did. Apparently, chakra was a very rare delicacy for rakshasa and Naruto's large reserve's were like a large neon sign saying, "Come on , eat me!"

Naruto finally got control of himself as he saw the final arrival and did his best to keep a look of disdain from his features. The cocky form of Ryan Tabbot entered the room and immediately started to put the moves on Gina, Naruto had to look away before he did something rash. 'I can't believe that rat bastard is here after what he did... and he's flirting with Gina as if nothing even happened. Well, guess he deserves everything that's coming to him, I wasn't known as the Prank Master from Hell for nothing!"

Flashback

Gina was using her vid phone to call her latest boyfriend, Ryan Tabbot, to invite him to come on a new dig with her and her sisters. Naruto had several clones around the home doing some surveillance in case there was an issue before he was ready to reveal himself to the girls and was also using them to get used to how several different items in the home worked, after all computers and many of the high tech items around him hadn't existed in Konoha or Jade but he was going to need to know how to use several of them if he was going to blend in properly.

As Naruto watched the conversation in front of him, an uneasy feeling washed over him because of how the young man Gina was talking to had been acting since the conversation started. Interpreting the body language and cues of people was a trait that was practically bred into a shinobi and Naruto's skill in that area was second to none. And his senses were telling him that something was up with Ryan.

"Sorry babe but I have an extremely important assignment that I need to take care of, there's no way I can reschedule it and I need to get this resolved ASAP." Gina huffed and leaned back in her chair at the response from her on/off boyfriend.

"Your still going to be able to make it to the beach day, right? Everyone will be there, I want you to meet my parents." Ryan smiled and nodded quickly,

"Of course I'll be there, can't wait to meet them. Sorry to cut this short but I gotta go, catch you later babe!" The call over, Gina left the communications room to get the rest of her supplies together for said expedition. The moment the door shut Naruto climbed down from his roost in the darkest corner of the room and accessed the main computer, pulling Ryan's address. Once he had that he created a new clone and they made their way to the Ginamobile, removed and hid the spare tire and a quick henge later there was one Naruto clone a new spare tire that was quickly placed in the trunk. His first job done, Naruto-clone slipped out of the house and after roof hopping away he put on a burst of speed, exiting the city and beginning his real mission.

Tail the lying bastard and see what he was hiding.

End Flashback

Unfortunately Naruto had been right, Ryan had been lying about what he had been doing. His 'important assignment he needed to take care of' was a girl he was going out with in his hometown. A girl he took back to his place and neither of them left till the next morning.

Now, Naruto was no prude, but he could never stand cheaters. He remembered some of the pranks he pulled on a few of them back in Konoha, after several months of various elaborate and extremely embarrassing pranks that no one could pin on him, it was learned that if you cheated on someone, you were a person that walked around with a target on your back. No one was safe, nobles, merchants, his superior officers before he became the Hokage elect. All were equal in their suffering and very public embarrassment.

And now, now he had found his next target.

'Well, sorry about your luck buddy, but it's your own damn fault. I haven't had a chance to hand out someone's just desserts in years and you get to be the unlucky one that gets the full brunt of that. No one does that to one of my friends, especially someone that got me out of the hellish nightmare I put myself into' Naruto looked over at Theo and nodded his head towards Ryan. Theo looked at the young man chatting with Gina over the top of his sunglasses and gave Naruto a very solemn nod, showing his approval for what he would be doing. After all, who wouldn't want the help of a Arch Mage to hammer the point home that you screwed up?

'Well, it's like Theo said when I planned this, No one messes with my girls.'

* * *

As everyone stepped through the portal the were amazed at the location that Gina had found. A pocket dimension that was as close to an island paradise as could be, it was a perfect place to relax for the day.

As each group broke up and scattered along the north and south beaches, Naruto made sure he was with Gina and Bri the entire time, keeping them laughing at some of the antics he had gone through earlier in his life. Just as they arrived at the site where they would have their picnic, Bri used her walker that she brought to setup the area for the group in no time at all.

While Gina volunteered to get lunch ready with the help of Genn, the others decided a friendly game of volleyball was in order. Just as they were about to pick teams Naruto pulled Seance to his side and said, "I'll take the kid, I think him and me'll make a good team."

Walking over to the net, Naruto motioned for Seance to come over. When the young man was close enough Naruto put his arm around the young man's shoulders and quietly let him in on the fact that there was going to be some... trouble. "Hey, things are going to get a little...heated today, when the shit hits the fan just sit back and enjoy the show, ok?"

Seance looked at Naruto with a confused expression but nodded slowly. As Seance was walking back to his side of their playing field, Naruto grinned when Brianna winked saucily at him then served the ball.

'Well, it's show time.'

* * *

Gina hummed happily as she and Genn worked on preparing lunch for the hungry group. She couldn't stop herself from looking over as Naruto ran back and forth, his natural agility serving him well as he kept the ball in play when it should have been impossible to save it multiple times. A quite snicker beside her drew her attention back to Genn and she frowned at the currently female Rakshasa . "What?"

Genn raised her hands in her defense and giggled at Gina's defensive response. "Nothing, it just looks like your a little distracted, that's all."

Gina glared at Genn as she turned back to the subs she was putting together and mumbled something about, "Meddlesome shapshifters.." as she finished up her job. Just as she was about to announce that lunch was ready, she saw Naruto leap into the air, rear back his arm and spike the ball right towards Ryan. Problem was, it looked like he hadn't held back as the careening ball nearly caved Ryan's nose in. He had managed to dodge the ball but only partially and he was sent crashing to the sand, hard. Gina watched as Ryan shook his head to try and regain his bearings, once he did he looked at Naruto and stalked towards him.

'Oh shit! Shit shit shit shit! What are you two doing?!" After a few heated words that were exchanged between the two men, Gina nearly fainted when she saw Ryan take a swing at Naruto, knowing that was a very BAD IDEA.

* * *

Ryan Tabbot was a powerful martial artists and a unrepentant flirt, he always felt like he was in charge of any situation and would always come out on top. But, as soon as he saw the ball rocketing towards his face, he could only think of one word. 'DODGE! Dodge,dodge, dodge, dodge, dodge!'

Pulling sharply to his right, Ryan managed to save his nose from the crushing blow but was still sent crashing to the ground from the powerful hit. Groaning loudly, Ryan slowly stood and rounded on the person that hit the ball, more than willing to give him a piece of his mind. And several helpings of his fists if needed to make the lesson stick.

'Besides, the little bastard is getting too close to 'my' Gina, I think it's time to teach him the way things are going to be around here"

* * *

Naruto grinned as Ryan stalked towards him, the young cocky man assured in the fact that he could take the slightly smaller Naruto. Ryan got into his face and since he was a little taller he looked down at Naruto, jabbed his finger into his chest and yelling at him. "You little shit! You did that on purpose!"

Naruto grinned a little as he felt Julia run towards the east cove where Brittany and Stripe were at and Theo was slowly making his way towards Naruto and the others. 'Guess all those years of practicing how to sense chakra without Sennin Modo have finally paid off.'

Naruto looked at the fuming young man in front of him and smiled disarmingly. "Yeah, I did. I just wanted us to have a private conversation without it seeming too strange. I know what you were doing a week and a half ago when you could have been helping Gina and the girls on that dig they went on. You know, the one that almost got them killed? Oh, that's right, you didn't know that, I saved them all from being killed by ancient traps that they had tripped. If I hadn't been there the next time you would have seen Gina was in a coffin"

Ryan's face paled as he backup a step at the sudden accusation danger that Gina had been in, but a moment later he was back in Naruto's face and doing his best to try and intimidate the shinobi. "You had better forget what you think you saw and keep it to yourself, if you know what's good for you."

Naruto sighed and looked at the young man in front of him with a bored expression. "Oh yes, I am so scared of you, on no, please help, please save me some one... Right, like that would ever happen, I think it's time for you to leave Gina alone. Be her friend, that'd be great, but I really, REALLY think you better stop trying to get in her pants, cause I know that's all you really want, a quick lay then onto the next one. So, here's the warning, back off, or you'll regret it."

Naruto saw the fist well before it even came close to hitting him but he let the enraged man's attack land. The left cross he took to the chin caused his head to jerk slightly and after his smiling face turned on Ryan the young man finally realized, 'Oh shit, I think this was a big mistake.'

Truer words were never spoken but before he could do anything Ryan's world exploded into blinding white light and pain... lots of pain.

* * *

Theo watched from the edge of the beach as Naruto was decked in the face and hmm'ed in surprise as he completely missed his next move, Naruto was just too fast for him to see. But what he didn't miss was Ryan's body getting catapulted down the beach and when the young man finally rolled to a stop a good 30 feet away, Theo realized he better step in soon before the angry shinobi did something rash, after all he didn't question Naruto's skill or restraint but he wanted to make sure that Ryan didn't do something that could cause the angry man to overreact.

As Naruto stood over the fallen treasure hunter, Theo grinned as he prepared the next part of their two person message and cracked his knuckles

'Showtime.'

* * *

Naruto nearly turned and attacked the person appeared beside him before he realized it was Theo. Reigning in his natural urge to attack, Theo placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder and nearly burst out laughing at the expression on Ryan's face.

After Theo's hand touched Naruto's shoulder a complex double weave was set off. Anyone more then three feet from the trio of men saw them having a very tense conversation. But Ryan? Ryan's recollection of what happened was a little different. Theo had been replaced with a man wreathed in flames, a flaming skull turned towards the downed man and pierced him with a hellish gaze. And Naruto... Naruto wasn't even human anymore, a half man half fox glared at the terrified Ryan with all the hate it could muster. "Well, I see that you boys are getting to know each other. I'd appreciate it if you stopped trying to ruin the day for everyone, I expect there will be no more incidents like this? And that you'll take into consideration the message Naruto delivered."

'Naruto' nodded his head as his gaze focused on Ryan, a gaze that promised severe pain and suffering if he didn't follow his warning. Naruto grinned evilly as Ryan paled considerably, the image of the demonic werefox Theo had created from Naruto's memories of Kurama being the perfect way to scare him straight... hopefully. 'Got to admit, Theo sure has a flair for the dramatic. Of course, when I told him what Ryan was doing I had to stop him from trying to kill the man.'

Feeling the young man was sufficiently scared, Theo dropped the spell and just in time too, because before anyone could say anything else Gina stormed up, grabbed Naruto's hand and dragged him off to the tree line.

Naruto smiled at the intense energy that was almost flying off of the girl that was pulling him off of the beach and sighed internally. 'Well, he comes the riot act, not that I wasn't prepared for it.'

When the two were finally alone Gina, who still hadn't faced him, let go of Naruto's hand and turned round, a finger jabbing into his chest. "Why did you start the fight? I saw that you wanted him to hit you, tell me why!"

Naruto put his hands in his pockets as he started to explain everything to the angry young woman. "Before the expedition, when you asked him to come along to help out, I was listening in and observing you all so I could get an idea of who you all were, normally there would be a briefing with all that info but your parents said it'd be a good test of my skills. Well, you mom said that, your dad however said I better not watch you 3 during any 'inappropriate moments.' But when I was listening to the conversation you had with Ryan that day I had a feeling something was up, so I sent a clone after him to see what kind of an 'important assignment' would keep him away from you. Turns out he's a no good asshole that was trying to take advantage of you, he was with a..."

Gina walked forward and slapped him, hard, stopping Naruto in the middle of his explanation. "Don't say it. Just... just leave me alone."

Gina turned her back on Naruto and started to walk away. Naruto reached towards Gina as she slowly left him behind but he dropped his hand to his side after a moment. Turning around he walked into the jungle towards the portal and once he was back home he immediately left the house to clear his mind.

Hours later, Naruto saw that none of the lights in the house were one, except the ones in Gina's room. Wanting to avoid an argument, Naruto silently entered the home and made his way to his workshop, when he got there he locked the door, lay down on the couch and within moments fell asleep

* * *

Brianna looked over at the man she was currently snuggled up against and sighed, finally having all the pieces to the puzzle. "So that's the whole story huh? Well I can't blame you for how you reacted, I'd be pissed at him if I knew the truth as well. But you know, Gina was only angry with you for about an hour, tops. We all looked for you on the island and when we couldn't find you she was worried that we couldn't find you and angry with herself for how she reacted. All day today she's been mopey and miserable, she barely left her room thinking that you had left for good. Heck, I think she forgot you even had a workshop down here. I've never seen her so depressed."

Naruto put an arm around Brianna's shoulder and squeezed lightly. "I'm being an idiot again, aren't I?"

Brianna giggled at the young man's question and nodded her head. "Yep, you are. But it's ok, I mean your still getting used to having people around you again. Go, talk to her, she wants to set things right."

Naruto nodded slowly but before he left he wrapped Brianna in his arms and mumbled, "Thanks." Naruto then leaned down and kissed the top of Brianna's head before he went to find his worried friend. If Naruto had looked back he would have seen a still Brianna that sat on his couch for a few more minutes before she fell down squealed loudly. 'Oh yeah, definite progress! Nothing's going to stop me now!'

* * *

After he woke up from his unintentional dirt nap, Naruto had placed a seal on each of the girls to help track them. It didn't have a very long range but it let him know if they were nearby and in trouble. Activating Gina's seal he began to walk through the house trying to find her,

Naruto smiled as he followed the seal's signal to the closed room she was in. It looks like Gina had decided to try and take her mind off of her worry for Naruto with a time honored method of wasting time. "I should have known."

Opening the door to the game room Naruto's ears were greeted by the blaring music and sound effects from the expensive sound system that Gina had installed. Naruto watched as Gina threw her whole being into the game she was playing, some kind of head to head fighting game. Just as the matched ended, 'Of course she won.', Gina rose to her feet, raised her right fist in victory. "YOSHA! MY KUNG FU IS THE BEST!"

Naruto couldn't take it anymore, he burst out laughing, causing Gina to scream in shock and fall to the ground. Coming round the couch Naruto pulled the frightened girl to her feet, then held his arms up to fend of the slaps she was aiming at him. "YOU JERK! YOU SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME!"

The continuous hitting caused Naruto to keep laughing and of course this eventually caused Gina to join in. Soon they were leaning against each other and trying to catch their breath between fits of giggles. Naruto pulled the giggling girl down on the couch beside him and gave her a sidelong glance.

"Feeling better?" Gina nodded and laid her head on Naruto's shoulder. After a few minutes of sitting like that she snaked her arms around his waist and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, I overreacted. I know you did those things to protect me, but all I saw was you keeping things from me. That and the fact that Ryan was cheating on me and I just.. reacted. I shouldn't have slapped you like that." Naruto closed his eyes and chuckled softly.

"Well, sometimes you need a good hit or two to get the point across with me. I may be a master when it comes to fighting, but with relationships, family and friends I can be a real amateur. It's what happens when you forget how to act around people. I'll make sure you know what's going on from now on, ok?" Gina nodded and hugged Naruto tighter. After looking up at the young man beside her Gina looked back at the tv and grinned devilishly.

"So, wanna play a game?" Naruto let out a bark of laughter as he picked up a controller. "Seriously? You'd wipe the floor with me! Besides, what are you playing?"

Gina grinned as she punched Naruto in the shoulder softly. "Oh come on, you can't be that bad, it'll be fun! And to answer your question, Street Fighter IV."

Naruto grinned as he made a discrete handsign* and shrugged his shoulders, "No reason, lets see... how about I use this guy... Ryu."

Meanwhile, outside of the room

Brianna grinned as she pushed off the wall she was leaning against and started to walk towards her room. 'Well, I did my good deed of the day I guess... wait, what's that sound?' Brianna jumped back in shock as Naruto suddenly dropped out of a panel in the ceiling and gave Brianna a wave. "Naruto?! I thought you were in the game room!"

Naruto grinned as he clung to the ceiling and closed the panel he had opened and nodded. "Yep, he is, I'm a clone, I need to find a computer to do some 'research'. Actually, may be you can help me. Do you know how to do any of the special moves for Ryu in Street Fighter IV?"

Brianna looked at Naruto strangely for a moment, then she looked back at the room he was supposed to be in and thought about what the clone had just said. A massive grin appeared on her face as she pulled the clone towards her and headed to the nearest computer system. "Oh, I think we can definitely find all the information you need. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something, Gina mentioned something about you spying on us for the last several months?"

Naruto-clone chuckled nervously as he was lead away, knowing that his creator was going to have a fun time explaining this to all three girls later.

Moments after the pair had left the hallway a second Naruto clone came down the elevator carrying a very important package. Placing it against the wall near the elevator he smirked and popped himself, his mission complete.

20 minutes later

Gina growled loudly and pointed her finger accusingly at Naruto. "You have to be cheating, ninja boy! I know you are! You haven't even touched a video game since you've been here and now your playing Ryu as if you've had years to practice!"

Naruto grinned as he watched his victory replay again and turned to the irate woman. "Uh huh, well I think someone is losing her touch, maybe your out of practice, science girl!"

Gina glared at the young shinobi and Naruto's only thought was, 'Ah shit, did I just cross a line again?', he was so worried at that thought that he didn't have time to stop Gina from tackling him to the ground and pinning him down. Naruto looked at Gina in wide eyed shock as she gave him a mock glare, leaned forward and softly said, "What did you just call me?"

Naruto, knowing he only had one chance to get this right, so he did the only reasonable thing he could think of. He kawarimi'ed after a mocking grin and Gina was left straddling the giant stuffed bear that had been in her room. He was entering the elevator when the game room's door was wretched open and Gina chased after him, screaming, "NARUTO! GET BACK HERE AND TAKE IT LIKE A MAN!"

Naruto waved jauntily as the elevator doors closed before she even got half way down the hall. The irate woman was left to stew silently as she thought back at what had happened.

'He started off as crap and all of a sudden is pulling off complex combos and all the super moves in a few minutes? Yeah right, he totally cheated!' As Gina slowly calmed down she wasn't ready for the pair of arms that grabbed a hold of her from behind and held her softly. She instantly calmed down when she heard Naruto's soothing voice

"Thanks, that was the most fun I've had in a while." Kissing the top of her head Naruto made his way to the now returned elevator and went up to his room. Gina stood completely still, her brain overloaded at what had just happened.

Ten minutes later the girlish squeal that echoed through the house made Naruto grin. "Well, if you can't beat'em, distract'em."

* * *

*Kage Bunshin: Myaku(Pulse)

As stated in the later chapters of the Naruto Manga, all of the shadow clones created by Naruto are tethered together even when separate from him, so why can't he send a pulse of chakra with updates if needed, so I'm making it an offshoot of the main technique that he developed


	5. Chapter 5

Not bad, not bad, the story is making some headway, nice. And thanks for the reviews, it's the only way I know if people like/hate what I'm doing so keep them coming.

* * *

Chapter 5

Brittany slung her arm around Naruto's shoulders and grinned at him cheekily. "So Naruto, having fun on your second dig with us? There should be an awesome payday from this place!"

Gina looked over at her sister with a deadpan expression as she added her two cents to Brittany's thoughts. "That's true, it should be an awesome payday, just like you said... IF EVERYONE ELSE WASN'T HERE WITH US!"

Naruto grinned as he pulled down the pair of sunglasses he wore to make it less obvious if he went into Sennin modo and observed the gathered archeologists/treasure hunters. As his gaze fell over Ryan Tabbot his grin became feral as he walked over to the young man, slapped him on the back and scared the shit out of him, if Ryan's expression was any indication.

"Ryan! How nice to see you again and so soon! So, did you have a chance to think about what I told you?" Ryan looked towards Gina in fear, a small "Hmph!" as she looked away was the only indication she even saw him. Sighing, the young treasure hunter nodded his head and said,

"All right, you win, I'll still work with her and I guess we can be friends, that is if she'll even talk to me." Naruto grinned and leaned in closely to hammer out some final details.

"Good... very good. So no more trying to get in her pants, no more trying to grope her, nothing, got it? And if your a good boy, I may help you with your fighting style, it's really just a mish mash of good moves but you don't know how to use them at all, I can fix that."

Ryan suddenly had a surprised look on his face and he nodded slowly. Naruto slapped his back again, nearly sending Ryan crashing into the floor and walked back over to the girls. Just as he got within range Cheetah grabbed his arm and whispered, "What gives? First you scare the crap out of him then your all buddy buddy with the guy!"

Naruto grinned evilly as he chuckled. "Well, I did say training... but I didn't say it would be the training from hell, he'll suffer more than he ever has and I can disguise it all as trying to make him a better martial artist."

Cheetah looked at our young shinobi, eyes wide and an excited smile on her face. "Please, please lemme help! Every session, please, please, PLEASE!"

Naruto gave her a thumbs up and was suddenly holding over 300lbs of ecstatic were-cheetah in his arms, said were-cheetah was also cackling madly as she though of the mayhem Naruto would cause in the guise of training. Ryan saw the exchange and suddenly felt like he had made another huge mistake.

Naruto let Cheetah go and looked at the rest of Gina's gathered rivals. 'Let see, pair of twins, getting some strange vibes off of them so they have to be the Montara's that Gina told me about and a... business man? Ok, that's a weird one, I'm guessing the girl with the wings and the other girl with her are Penny and Charlotte, which leaves the last group of baldy, the midget and the wannabe."

The last three people that Naruto looked at seemed to be the most annoyed with the hold up as the World Archeological Foundation representative was trying to figure out who had the rights to the newest find. As they all waited, Naruto began to mold some chakra to see if anyone so much as even twitched. The wannabe and the twins both looked at Naruto sharply, causing the blond to grin widely.

'Well well, seems their not all useless after all. Only a few people should be able to feel the energies that form chakra, this may actually be a little interesting.'

* * *

Galford looked at the man in front of him and couldn't help but shiver slightly, his senses telling him that this man was not to be trifled with. Actually, his senses were screaming to him to act immediately. "RUN! WHY AREN'T YOU RUNNING! DAMMIT, WE ARE GOING TO DIE, BAKA!"

Crouching down at his master's height Galford softly let his lord know that something was amiss. "Lord Talon, we must be wary of the man with the Diggers sisters... he is very dangerous."

_Writer's note: Yeah, no shit Sherlock, ya think?_

Pee Wee... er, Lord Talon glanced at the man that Galford had just pointed out and smirked in contempt. "Hmph, he doesn't seem like that much to me. He looks weaker than Tabbot and I know that you would wipe the floor with that blowhard."

Galford nodded slowly at what his employer said but continued on. "Regardless of what you may see, he is much more than that. I do not know if I would be able to defeat him if he tried to attack us."

Talon's interest was piqued as he looked at the young man again. "Really? Maybe a genetic sample of the 'dumb muscle' wouldn't be a bad idea. If we have the opportunity, we'll collect one."

Just as Talon finished speaking, the 'dumb muscle' sharply turned his head and pierced the young genius with his shade covered gaze.

Talon sweated a little, thinking that he may have underestimated the situation.

* * *

Finally the site was divided up, it seems everyone filed for first rights to the Arctic Empire's rediscovered capital. Naruto grinned as each group began to argue but Miss Hagger was unmoved by anything they said. After the capital had been divided and the Diggers team arrive at their site, Gina sent Cheetah to check in with Genn and Seance before they arrived so they knew what they were in for.

Naruto smiled as he held Gina in his arms and was leaping towards one of the many ledges in the northern sector that they had been assigned. The young genius grumbled a bit when Naruto set her down but the discovery in front of her just waiting to be cracked finally helped her get over her annoyance. There was a small alcove filled with several items that piqued the young genius' curiosity so they were staying put for a while.

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest as he thought about the situation involving him, Gina and Brianna. He could tell that both girls were interested in him, he wasn't quite the same dense, hyperactive knucklehead he had been before. Both girls were appealing for different reasons, Gina and her devotion and single minded drive to anything that she wanted and Brianna's desire to make her own mark on the world and were desires that he could relate to. Not to mention Gina's obsession with anime and video games were growing on him and there was no need to even mention how much he loved blowing things up with Brianna. Each had their own needs, hobbies and likes and dislikes but it seems they both wanted the same thing this time.

Him.

Naruto knew if he chose one over the other, that would devastate the girl that he didn't choose. For once in his life Naruto had no idea how to get out of this without someone getting hurt. 'In the end, I may just have to disappoint them both, they'd end up hating me most likely but at least not each o...'

Just as Naruto was about to end his though,Gina looked back at Naruto and smiled at him cutely, then turned back to the items she was looking over. His resolve to step back from both girls crumbled faster than him eating a bowl of ramen. "Ah hell, I am so screwed.'

A moment after he thought this, Naruto cocked his head to the side. He'd been keeping a figurative eye on Cheetah as she made her way closer to the entrance and just noticed that someone was trying to intercept her. As he examined the chakra sources more closely a maniacal grin appeared on his face. 'Oh no you little wannabe, not today.'

One hand sign later a clone appeared behind Gina, surprising the young woman out of her near euphoric daze as she tried to solve the mystery before her. "Gina, I think there's something going on with Cheetah. This guy'll keep you safe for now, I'll be back as soon as I can."

Leaping towards the exit Naruto grinned as he thought, 'Time to show everyone what a real ninja is.'

* * *

Cheetah growled as she kept dodging the blows from Zelda and Galford, each doing their best to put her down, permanently. 'DAMMIT! What I wouldn't give for a little help here!'

Moments after Cheetah finished that though she felt a pair of arms encircle her and pull her away from the fight. Looking up she saw the smirking face of Naruto right above her. "Heya Cheets, having fun?"

As he stood and let her go, Cheetah looked back at Peewee's goons and cracked her knuckles, a large grin splitting her face now that she had some backup. "Oh I will be now, Baldy is all yours. Galford is mine."

Before anyone could move Naruto was on his knees in front of Cheetah, holding her hands in his own and doing something she never thought she would ever see him do. "PLEASE! Please, please, please lemme kick this wannabe ninja's ass! I'll do anything for ya, anything!"

Cheetah was completely shocked at how Naruto was acting but understood why he was doing it, true she may not hang out with him as much as her sister's but the two had talked a little bit about their fighting styles so that if they ever did team up they wouldn't keep tripping over each other. And Cheetah knew Naruto took his training and his abilities seriously, not wanting anyone looking down at his skills or mocking what a real shinobi should be.

A devious smirk crossed her face as she pulled Naruto to his feet. "Well... what can you offer me? After all, you are the one butting into my fight, I find it only fair that I get something out of it if your taking the best fighter to yourself."

Naruto put up one hand, reached into his jacket with the other and pulled out a small card. "You can have the item listed on this card."

* * *

Zelda couldn't take it anymore, she stepped forward pointed at her two targets. "HEY! Stop jabbering and..."

Zelda trailed off as both Naruto and Cheetah gave her a death glare. Taking a step back she looked at Galford but he just held his hands up and shook his head.

Zelda felt a trickle of fear settle in her stomach. 'This can't good...'

* * *

Cheetah looked at the card in confusion but after she read the few lines that were there her eyes widened in shock. "YES! I'll take it! He's all yours!"

Naruto took back the card and grinned. "Deal, now where were we?" Naruto and Cheetah both pivoted and launched themselves towards Zelda and Galford, the speed they were moving at causing both goons to try and backpedal in shock but it was too late.

Naruto grinned as he began to 'educate' Galford, dancing back and forth between each of his strikes and watching the genetically engineered ninja get even more frustrated as he failed to land a single blow. Finally Galford leaped back, brought his hands to his side and began gathering his energy there. Naruto smirked at the attempt and when Galford yelled, "Hadoken!" Naruto disappeared from his sight.

Galford froze when he felt a presence appear behind him and heard, "A ninja doesn't let the opponent sneak up on them from behind, baka. Konohagakure Hiden Taijutsu Ōgi: Sennen Goroshi!"

* * *

Pee Wee looked back at the tunnel his minions had used to intercept Brittany Diggers and keep her busy. A girlish scream echoed from the tunnel and Pee-Wee sighed. "Sounds like Zelda was defeated... again."

* * *

Naruto smirked as the chakra enhanced ass poke sent Galford rocketing across the chamber, directly into the far wall. Cheetah and Zelda had watched the whole thing happen and both could only respond in one way. Both girls started to laugh their heads off as Galford slowly rose from the ground as quickly as his wounded pride(and ass) would let him. As both girls gained control of themselves, Cheetah jabbed Zelda in the face, stunning her and unloaded a multi hit combo that sent her skidding towards her mortified partner.

"You see how much of a threat I think you are, wannabe? That was the move that my teacher used on me after I was a ninja under his command for only a day! You're that much of a joke to me!" Galford pulled a ball from his belt, threw it to the floor and the cavern began to fill with smoke. Naruto slid in front of Cheetah in case this was a cover for a sneak attack but relaxed as he felt the two enemies leave, their chakra rapidly heading south.

Spinning around Naruto grinned and held his fist up in front of Cheetah. She looked at the raised fist for a moment then grinning she softly bumped it and whooped out loud "Aw yeah, that was awesome! Thanks for coming to give me a hand! And don't you dare think about backing out on what you said you'd deliver since the fight was so short!"

Naruto rubbed his finger under his nose and grinned. "No worries, totally worth it to show that guy his place. You'll get the 'item' in a few days. But I better get back to Gina, just in case. You never know what trouble she may have gotten into."

* * *

Meanwhile, Gina wasn't exactly in trouble, more like she was embarrassing herself. The Naruto clone had walked ahead of Gina a little bit while she was discussing the situation with Genn, giving the beautiful young woman a good look at the clone's ass at the same time. 'It may not actually be him, but they are completely identical. Wish I had a quarter..."

A quiet "Psst, Gina!" behind the distracted girl caused her to fall back on her basic survival method whenever Penny was around. Give Penny a wedgie before her rival could do the same to her. Gina, using her epic wedgie skills,snagged the underwear of the person behind her and yanked as hard as she could, all without looking at the target. Mission accomplished Gina looked over her shoulder with a smirk that quickly turned into complete and utter mortification. Penny hadn't been sneaking up on her, it was...

"Now you see Charlotte, that's why I sent Ryan ahead to talk to Gina." Gina glared at her rival and her harpy friend, growling at the sassy grin she got in return. Naruto-clone chuckled as he turned around and watched the scene in front of him. Standing beside Gina he put his arm around her neck and grinned. Ryan... well Ryan was trying to get his underwear back in his pants. This done he decided to wander back to the entrance to check in on the others that had been missing, thinking that it'd be less embarrassing then his current situation.

"Gina, you never told me you like to wedgie people... OW!" Gina elbowed the clone in the stomach, fortunately it wasn't hard enough to pop him but he did feel it. Turning back to her rival she growled out,

"Why are you here Penny?" Penny sighed and crossed her arms as she looked at Gina

"Erwin's got me concerned. I mean he's the kinda guy to off people rather than share, if he could get away with it he'd kill us all and leave us here to rot. I say we team up to make sure nothing like that happens." Gin adopted a unconcerned look and jerked her thumb at Naruto.

"I don't need to team up with anyone, this guy is all I need anymore. Him and Brit together are pretty much unstoppable."

Penny hmmm'ed at the young man beside her rival and got a good look at him. "Um... I don't know what's so special about him, sure he's cute but other than that he looks so... normal."

Gina snorted and held in her laughter. Gina looked at Naruto and began to giggle, confusing her rival even more. "Uh huh, normal... right. Don't worry, we can take care of Pee-Wee, we'll can use the car to get to his site and take care of him."

Gina started tapping several keys on her wrist comp, but after a moment she screamed in rage. "MY CAR!"

* * *

Ionis smirked as he surveyed his work. Genn and Seance had been taken out the moment they had exited the car, leaving it ready to be occupied by Pee wee and his crew. Just as the reset of the group arrived, Ionis cocked his head to the side and gestured at Galford.

"What happened to him, he's limping pretty bad." Galford froze suddenly and looked at Zelda. Zelda looked at Galford and used all her willpower not to burst out laughing. Galford looked at Ionis and said,

"It's a long story, you don't want to know. Just get in the damn car."

As the quartet got in the car and Ionis used his magic to disguise himself as Gina he muttered, "What crawled up your ass and died? Sheesh."

Zelda couldn't take it anymore, her laughter doubled her over as they flew off in the Ginamobile.

* * *

"Why would they need to fly somewhere... they must have found something in their area that pointed to some kind of treasure, but the only place that you'd need to fly... the Northeast! That's it! I wish there was a way to stop Pee-wee and his goons, but they've locked me out!"

Penny smirked as she flew off with Charlotte's help but Gina didn't care about that, she was trying to think of a way to turn this around.

Naruto grinned and nudged Gina with his hip. "Hey, how badly do you want to stop them, cause I can do it but you have to promise not to get annoyed."

Gina gave Naruto a cockeyed expression and hmmm'ed softly. "All right, but you better tell me what your about to do, you better not be wrecking the car!"

Naruto laughed and shook his head as he made a strange hand sign and said, "No nothing like that, first off you installed that external system we talked about to accept voice commands, right?"

At Gina's nod Naruto took a deep breath and let Gina know about what he had been doing for the last few months. "Good, I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't get angry at me that I have full access to your security protocols including the car. Also I've been hiding a disguised clone there for the last week, that's all." Gina looked at Naruto in shock and the shinobi continued. "After all, it's the perfect place to put a shadow clone that no one would ever expect. That sign I just made? It let him know what to do, the car should be stopping right about... now."

Gina was thinking of what she had just been told and the fact that she knew there were always several clones in the house at any given time helping out it made sense to have a way to pass info that didn't involve popping... 'Wait, if he can use a hand sign to tell his clones what to do... OH YOU HAVE GOTTO BE KIDDING ME!'

"THAT'S HOW YOU CHEATED THAT FIRST NIGHT WE PLAYED STREET FIGHTER!" Naruto gave a fox like grin and the clone popped, warning the original that his secret was blown. "NARUTO!" As Gina tried to get her breathing back under control, she had to ask herself, 'What could Naruto possibly have disguised his clone as on my car?'

* * *

With Cheetah and the real Naruto they were making their way back to where they had left Gina. Naruto suddenly stopped and paled a little. 'Uh oh, I'm in trouble...'

Turning to the north east he looked at Cheetah and said, "Change of plans, everyone is making a run for the north east, I'll go and cause some mayhem, you get Gina and meet me there!"

Before Cheetah could even agree to the new plan Naruto took off in a flash down the corridor. Cheetah looked at the rapidly fading back of her friend and scratched her head in confusion at his sudden change in attitude. "What the heck is his problem?"

Meanwhile, back with the car

Erwin rubbed his hands together greedily, everything was going exactly as he planned and there was nothing...

A loud bang interrupted Erwin's inner thoughts and he looked around wildly for the cause of it. "What was that!"

Suddenly a weight landed on top of the car and everyone looked out the windows, wondering what kind of trouble they were in now.

* * *

Naruto-clone #2 was in a word, pissed. First, he had been stuck as a spare tire for the last week since he got the short straw when they drew lots for the duty, second he was sleeping when the order came in to the stop the car thieves and finally he had to fight his way out from under some huge ass piece of equipment that Gina had loaded in the car. So, needless to say he was not exactly in a mood to deal with car thieves. Placing a hand on the roof he said, "Authorization Uzumaki Alpha, Sierra, Sierra, Kilo, Charlie, Kilo, Romeo. Engage hover mode and lock out all other secure users until secondary command code for user Uzumaki is provided! Acknowledge last order!"

A quick double honk of the car's horn and the Ginamobile immediately began to slow. 'That'll teach them to steal our stuff! Little bastards, they're lucky I don't crash the damn thing!'

* * *

Erwin became very nervous when their forward speed slowed then stopped completely, just shy of their target. Looking over to his left he grabbed Ionis pointed at the controls. "Ionis, do SOMETHING."

Ionis tried everything he could think of to get the car moving but nothing was working. "Sorry Lord Talon, it appears we have been locked out. Wait, what the hell is that?"

Everyone looked out the front windshield at the Naruto-clone currently crouching on top of it. Said clone was angrily glaring at everyone and as he did so his eyes shifted from his normal sky blue to a deep red, causing everyone in the cockpit to react accordingly. Zelda and Galford screamed bloody murder, Ionis opened his spell book for a teleportation spell and Erwin... well, Naruto would want to clean up the car before he gave it back to Gina

* * *

Naruto arrived at the edge of a cliff and saw the hovering car a several hundred feet ahead of him and grinned. He cupped his hands and yelled. "NICE JOB NUMBER 2!"

"SUCK MY DICK, ASSHOLE!" Naruto grinned at his clones pissed off response and gave it the mental command to pop, then looked around to get an idea of what was going on. He saw 2 helicopters and some kind of fighter craft slowly making their way to a building he could barely make out, so he looked for a good way to get to the other side. Deciding to do it the shinobi way, Naruto ran to the wall and using his chakra he made his way up, once he reached the ceiling he ran full tilt towards the car. As he neared the stalled vehicle he saw Peewee and his goons abandon the vehicle, somehow managing to slow their fall as they hit the ground. Leaping from the ceiling he rocketed towards the car and yelled, "Authorization Delta, Omega, Delta, Gina, Echo, reengage drive and weapon systems for all main users!"

As Naruto neared the driver side door he used his chakra to cushion his fall as his hands touched the edge of the roof. Naruto grinned as he slid into the driver seat, closed all the doors and got the vehicle ready to fight. "Gonna have to thank Brianna for all those late night lessons on the car, it'll finally come in handy."

A few sniffs and Naruto's nose wrinkled. "And now I need to clean the car, dammit! Ok, time to make'em pay!"

* * *

Halfway around the world, Brianna had a sudden warm fuzzy feeling in her chest. Looking towards the north she grinned as she though of Naruto, saddened that she couldn't go with them but an experiment that she had been running was in it's most critical stages so she couldn't leave it alone. Brianna was snapped out of her thoughts when the phone rang and she scrambled to grab the handset. Once she heard what the caller wanted she wished that she hadn't been able to make it in time.

* * *

Naruto aimed for Peewee and his crew, then activated the external speaker systems for the car. "Halt car thieves, I am here to make your life a living hell, surrender and die!"

Ionis raised his hands and shouted. "Um, excuse me, sir, don't you mean surrender OR die?"

Naruto grinned as he activated the missile system and just before he pushed the firing stud, his maniacl grin returning. "I meant what I said."

* * *

Gina and Brittany arrived just as the Gina mobile launched it's missiles. The threw their arms in front of their eyes to protect themselves from debris and the glare, when the explosions were over they looked forward and nearly doubled over laughing, Naruto had apparently used the non lethal missile system, consisting of a series of flash bangs and entrapment gels. Pee Wee and his crew were futility struggling to move but they weren't going anywhere for a while, Cheetah even had a hard time getting out of the stuff and she was stronger than all of Pee Wee's group.

"That crazy knucklehead, I could kiss him right now." A sidelong glance an a smirk were the only answer that Brittany provided to her sister for what she just said. Gina looked over and sighed. "Ok, fine, I want to kiss him all the time, happy now?" Brittany giggled and grabbed her sister, seeing a way that she could get across the chasm in front of them. Moments later the two women landed and waved at the floating car.

"Naruto! Set it down and we'll go see what's so important!" Gina watched as Naruto made a slightly wobbly descent and made a mental note to take him on lessons to fly the car... with plenty of time put aside to 'get to know each other better'. The car finally touched down and Naruto bounded out, grabbing Gina and twirling her around as he laughed. Gina couldn't help herself and joined in, Brittany just smiled sadly from the side as she watched the scene.

'All three of them had better work this out or there will be hell to pay.'

Once they were all under control Gina went over and found a large crate that was half hanging out of the trunk. With a grin she pushed a key on her wrist comp and the container suddenly transformed into a fully armed Hurt bot. "Alpha 4, ready for action?"

The hurt bot turned to it's creator, it's weapon systems making several whirs or clicking sounds as it's voice boomed out, "All system's nominal, ready for combat! Warning, subspace distortions detected!"

Behind the group the Montara twins finally showed up, their hands clasped as their psychic powers began to flare around them. "All of you will leave this place to us or you will burn!"

A massive jet of pyrokinetic flame raced towards the Digger crew but the hurt bot stood in front of it, it's shields were more than enough to handle the impact. Naruto jumped over the mech and raced forward, throwing the Montara sister to the wall and knocking her cold and grabbed the brother's clothing,knocking his out with a well placed punch. "Now that that's taken care of... Gina, ways clear, lets go. Cheets, wanna run interference with the hurt bot out here and keep mister 'I'm a ninja businessman' off our backs?"

Gina circled on her new love interest and jabbed a finger in his chest. "Hey, speaking of cheats, I know how you..."

Naruto pointed behind Gina and yelled, "Look, it's Charlotte, she's carrying Penny into the building!"

Gina growled as she began running towards the entrance. "This conversation is shelved for now, but you are is SO MUCH TROUBLE."

Naruto grinned as he ran forward, scooped Gina up in his arms and put on a burst of speed, entering the chamber just as Penny managed to gain access to a multitude of what looked like floating diamonds. Naruto slowed as he looked up with wide eyes and saw teeth... lots and lots of teeth. Said teeth said a single word that got everyone's attention

"LEAVE."

Gina, Penny and Charlotte all looked at the floating sets of teeth and eyes with wide eyed expressions of fear, not saying a single word. Naruto on the other hand had sparkles in his eyes and said, "THAT IS SO COOL!"

Break

Erwin Talon was not having a good day. First, they had to share the dig site with all these other peasants. Next, his plan to keep the Diggers busy failed. The car fiasco would haunt his dreams for a weeks and finally the entrapment gel was still sticking to him in certain places.

After they had finally freed themselves thanks to a handy spell from Ionis, said mage and his faithful ninja were keeping Brittany Diggers and the Hurt bot she had helping her busy, meanwhile he and Zelda ran for the building everyone had been trying to get into. Just as they were about to enter they saw Gina in the arms of her newest stooge come barreling out, screaming, "RUN YOU FOOLS, RUN!"

As Erwin watched the pair race away, he saw Penny and her harpy fly overhead, a four foot long diamond in their grasp. "That's bigger than I am! Inside, now!"

As Erwin and Zelda turned back to the doorway they were greeted by a set of teeth, very large teeth. Said teeth had this to say,

"THEIVES, YOU HAVE AWAKENED MY FURY!"

Erwin, for the second time today, now had to change his pants. Moments later a bright green light bathed the doorway and Erwin knew no more.

Break

Naruto looked back at the tall... dragon like thing and grinned as he ran faster. Brittany saw him and caught up to him, screaming at her sister in his arms. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? WHAT DID YOU DO GINA!?"

Gina held onto her hat and yelled back, "NOTHING! BLAME PENNY, WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE, NOW!"

Before they could move again Gina's hurt bot blasted off towards the new enemy, fulfilling it's programming to protect it's creator. A moment later a blast of green energy engulfed it and after it cleared, there was nothing, not even wreckage of the mech remained. Naruto and Cheetah looked at each other and took off immediately, knowing that it was a good time to run.

Naruto and Cheetah poured on the speed and saw the exit in front of them, but they were going to have to jump to make it. Just as Naruto and Cheetah leapt forward, the Montara's decided to throw a monkey wrench into into that plan, using their psychic powers to steal Naruto's momentum and save themselves. Cheetah landed on the ledge without a problem but Naruto had back towards the ground where he started, growling at the interference. 'If it was just me, that's not a big deal, but Gina's here too! When I get my hands on those two...'

The thought was cut off as his back hit the ground and the pair rolled a short way before Nartuo's back hit a stalagmite. Grunting through the pain Naruto looked down at his passenger and was greeted by a pair of worried eyes. Looking towards the ledge, Naruto saw Cheetah's head popped up and heard her startled yell. "What the hell are you doing down there? Get the hell out of there, right now!"

Naruto rose to his feet and looked behind him, seeing several of the green orbs that had chased after the others closing in on the both of them. 'Well, looks like it's now or never, I was hoping to keep this one a secret but things never go the way you expect them to!'

"Cheetah! Get your ass outta here, I got another way out! I'll meet you at the entrance!" Cheetah gave him a worried look for a moment then remembered what the blonde shinobi had done the first time they all met him. Cheetah smirked and said, "You better, I'm not explaining to Bri what happened to you if you don't! Not to mention you still owe me!"

Naruto grinned as the were-cheetah turned around and ran through the exit. Looking down at Gina again he grinned and cocked his head to the side. "Hang on tight... this may feel a little... weird."

A moment later they were both gone, the only sign of anything having been in the area was a flash of yellow light.

* * *

Gina nearly screamed as the pair were suddenly plunged into darkness and she felt herself fall from Naruto's arms. Reaching for her pockets Gina pulled a flashlight and when she turned it on and saw that Naruto was laying face down on the ground she scrambled towards him and pulled him into her arms and started to cry as she placed Naruto's head in her lap. "Naruto! Come on, don't you dare do this to me! I haven't... I haven't even..."

A weak groan caught Gina's attention and she looked into the tired eyes of the knucklehead she was falling for. "Hey, s'ok, I'm just really tired. Haven't quite figured out the right seal formula for that one so it's really draining. But, we're safe... for now."

Gina looked around her and saw that they were in a enclosed space with a long passage way that snaked out behind her. "Where are we?"

Naruto groaned as he tried to get up but a firm push from Gina and a glare stopped him from moving. Naruto gave up on moving for now and got comfortable, I mean who wouldn't in this situation? "Side passage, about a mile from the entrance. I tagged it earlier before we headed north. We should be safe to stay here for a while till I get a bit of my chakra back."

"Tagged?" Naruto weakly pointed to the left of the pair, Gina shone her light in the direction and saw a gleaming tri-prong kunai that had been stabbed into the ground. It's hilt had a small scrolled wrapped around it, the only word she could make out was 'Flash'.

"The Hiraishin no Jutsu, or Flying Thunder God Technique. It was my dad's but he never got a chance to teach it to me, so I've been putting it together through trial and error over the last 15 years after I found Julia. Dad used to literally flash around the battlefield and decimate his enemies. Me? Heh, one use and this is what happens, for now at least." Gina sighed as she absently started to run her fingers gently through Naruto's hair, planning on making the most of the fact he was at her mercy and unable to move.

"Naruto, there's something I need to talk with you about. Ever since you arrived... when you saved me from that fall...I..." A hand on her cheek stopped Gina in shock. Looking down at Naruto a tired smile dominated his face as he said, "Hey, s'ok, it's all part of what I do. The two things I'm best at are first: Kicking ass. And a very close second is rescuing the beautiful damsel in distress."

Gina felt a few tears appear in her eyes and she decided that it was the best time to make her move. 'I may never get another chance, it's time to show him what he means to me!'

Leaning forward Gina closed her eyes as she gently kissed Naruto. It was a little awkward since he was in her lap but it was worth it to her. As she felt Naruto respond to the kiss Gina's heart soared, then just as quickly it crashed to the ground when Naruto tried to push her away. "Wait, wait, can't... can't do this, can't choose one of you over the other."

For a moment Gina was hurt, unbelievably so, when the words Naruto had just spoken finally registered. With a soft smile she kissed the weakened man's forehead and murmured soothingly. "Shhhhhh, s'ok, we'll talk about it later, k? Don't worry, I'm not mad, this just shows I chose right this time." Pulling Naruto into her lap Gina held onto him like he was the giant teddy she kept in her room and even as they rested on the cold hard rock the pair managed to fall asleep

* * *

Gina awoke to the heavenly feeling of being in Naruto's arms again. Snuggling in closer she kept her eyes closed until she heard a soft chuckle, Looking up she saw Naruto's smiling face beaming down at her. Gina reached a hand up and gently stroked the whiskers on Naruto's cheek, giggling at the rumbling sound in his chest at her action. "Hey sleepyhead, we're almost there. I'm taking it slow for once, we're been walking for a little under a a half hour or so."

Gina nodded and settled back against her rescuer's chest, feeling more safe than she ever had, even when she was with her dad. 'So this is what mom was trying to explain to me, huh? Guess she was right, you don't know what it feels like till it happens.'

As the pair finally reached the exit, the bright light momentarily blinded them. Seconds later they heard, "GINA! NARUTO!" and were nearly tackled by an enthusiastic ball of energy, aka Cheetah. Naruto grinned as he lowered Gina back to the ground, but the genius refused to let go of him and buried her face in his chest. "No, don't wanna, pick me up. Now."

Cheetah giggled and Naruto sighed, deciding to give into the 'request'. 'So needy. And clingy. Ah, who am I kidding, I'm enjoying it too.'

As Naruto's eyes finally adjusted he saw that everyone else was already here, some appearing more confused than others. Heck, even the Ginamobile was there as well.

"So what exactly happened?" Penny sauntered over, gave the recently returned pair a smirk and said,

"Well stud, it looks like those lights that were chasing up were only a way to make us leave, everyone they hit was teleported back here. And as you can see, the entrance is sealed off now with a barrier, no one is getting back in there again." Looking behind him Naruto saw the barrier that Penny had been referring to and hung his head tiredly, realizing he didn't need to pull out Flying Thunder God after all. A hand on his cheek turned his gaze back on Gina and she grinned at him.

"Hey, don't worry, I'll keep it a secret on how we got out, but you so owe me now." Naruto laughed and leaned into the hand on his cheek. Moments later heard painful sounding smack. Turning back around Naruto saw Penny rubbing the back of her head, Cheetah poking Penny in the shoulder and the recently arrived Seance tried to hold his laughter in.

"Oi, Penny, no ogling his ass, he's spoken for already." Gina's arms tightened around Naruto's neck possessively and she glared at her rival, Naruto chuckled at the situation, wondering if this is what Sauske had to go through with all the girls that chased him.

"Ok, I think it's time we headed home."

* * *

Omake – What did Cheetah sell her chance to fight Galford for?

While Naruto was observing the girls he had sent several clones around the US to try and start... a shipping business, or as the Police like to call it, a smuggling ring. How else would he get the materiel that he needed to do his job? Several of the items he needed to get were highly expensive, illegal or both.

As he managed to get his venture off the ground with the help of the knowledge he had learned from Jiraiya during his training journey, Naruto ran into a business man that couldn't provide him the material he wanted even though the order was already supposed to have been fulfilled and shipped. He replaced it with a product he claimed was of equal value and shipped it to the central location of Naruto's operation. When the crates arrived, one of his clones opened a crate and cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"What the hell is the boss going to do with 10 shipping crates full of ice and fresh tuna?"


	6. Chapter 6

Brianna nervously rapped her fingers on the table top as she waited for her sisters to get back with Naruto. 'What are we gonna do? We are in so much trouble, those guys better have come back with some loot we can sell!'

Chapter 6

As the Ginamobile finally came to a stop under the Digger girls home, Brittany and Gina looked back at Naruto. The young shinobi had passed out almost immediately when he had sat down and with good reason too. Massive usage of chakra caused his body to almost shut down completely to conserve and renew his power. The only reason he even made it back to the entrance of the Arctic dig was through pure will power and determination.

Gina grinned at her sister and jerked a thumb towards the backseat. "Wanna help me carry this lug and put him to bed?"

Brittany giggled and gently lifted the their sleeping protector out of the back and gently put him over her shoulder. As the two carried their cargo to the elevator Brittany turned to Gina and said, "So, how do you think Brianna will react to this?"

* * *

Brianna gaped at her two sisters, seeing the comatose form of Naruto slung over Cheetah's shoulder. Reigning in her anger she calmly looked at Gina. "What. Happened. To. Naruto?"

Gina nervously chuckled as she put her hands behind her back. "Well, you see... during the dig we kinda, sorta... woke up an ancient snake guardian and Naruto used all his chakra to get me to safety, so now he's in a coma till he recovers his energy, according to my scans he should be..."

Brianna palmed her face, moaned loudly and then stalked towards her sisters. Gina nervously began to backup but once she hit the wall she was faced with the furious gaze of her younger sister. "You let him get hurt."

At those words Gina's embarrassed/scared look evaporated and she glared back at Brianna. "I didn't let him get hurt, the other people that tried to claim the dig site at the same time we did were the reason this happened. We were about to make our way out when those no good Montara twins yanked us back inside of the chamber with the guardian snake thing and we had to make a quick getaway."

Brianna sighed as she fussed over the state of Naruto. Looking back at Gina she paused. "What did he do to make this happen anyway?"

Both girls turned to their older sister as she chuckled weakly. "I promised not to tell?"

Brianna and Brittany glanced at each other, narrowed their eyes at Gina then sighed loudly. "Fine, but only because I respect Naruto's privacy."

Brittany smirked at Brianna and nodded her head. "Sure you do, that's why I saw you trying to break into his room the other day when he went out to pick something up downtown."

Brianna began to whistle innocently as she turned away saying, "I can't hear you!"

Before she could leave the living room she felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked back into the serious eyes of Gina. "Brianna, we really need to talk. Alone."

Brittany nodded as she carefully took Naruto back to his room. Brianna and Gina watched as Naruto disappeared down the hallway the back at each other.

* * *

While the girls were arguing they had no idea that Naruto was actually listening to everything that they were saying, Smirking as he leaned against the Containment cage, Naruto heard another lock cycle open.

"Well, that's it for the third ring, 9 more to go." A small stream of red chakra was passing through the small hole, enough to help get his chakra system jump started on the regeneration process to bring him back to full strength, drastically cutting down on the time it would take for him to wake. Naruto settled back as he he had a feeling that he may be in need of an ace in the hole, a wild card that no one knew about. After a sufficient amount of Kurama's potent energy was used his jump start his own chakra system ,Naruto began to guide the rest of the energy he was able to siphon to a unused portion of his mindscape, the former holding area of Kurama's chakra before they became partners. Naruto watched as a small sphere began to form, knowing it would not be as plentiful and long lasting as before but it would give him a quick boost in a pinch.

As all of these things were done he heard a low growl from behind him and smirked. "Just be patient buddy, you'll be out and causing mayhem soon enough."

The growling stopped as the sleeping beast heard his friend and accepted that he still had a while to wait.

* * *

After Gina and Brianna were done their discussion they called Brittany back into the living room as Brianna had an important message to share with them both.

"WE'RE BROKE!?"

Brianna nodded sadly as she collapsed in the nearest recliner. "When you were gone we got a call from the IRS, remember when you both had that, uh, 'stretch of bad luck'*? Well there was a double audit cause of it and they seized all our assets so we bounced almost half a MILLION in checks, including the one for this years taxes! Their gonna take the house next!"

Gina sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Well, we can use my emergency fund to get us out of this. It'll be a little rough for a while but we'll make it."

"Ummm..." Gina and Brianna both slowly looked at Brittany, her terrified look not giving them hope that they would like whatever it was that she had to say.

"It's... it's gone" Gina cocked her eyebrow at Brittany and said,

"What's... GONE."

"The emergency fund."

* * *

Naruto jerked in his sleep as Gina's extremely angry scream pierced all the way to his mindscape. Even Kurama whined a bit as he heard it. "Oh, that can't be good."

* * *

"Brianna, lemme go, lemme go! I'MMA GONNA KILL HER!" Brianna grunted as she tried to stop Gina from attacking Brittany and she was losing her grip. 'How the hell is she so strong, I can barely hold her back!'

Cheetah was just sitting in her chair, tears slowly trailing down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! All I do is shop and spend your money, since I go on the adventures with you I never think of where it comes from or how much we have, I just spend and spend! I'm just mooching off of you sis, I'm so sorry!"

Gina took a deep breath as Brittany said her piece, feeling some guilt at how she reacted. Brianna started to cry from her sister's words and that's what finally got Gina to calm down. "Look, I'm sorry, your not a mooch Brit, I'm just... I'm just really frazzled right now, with Naruto out of commission, being broke and still owing money, not to mention the situation with me, her..." At this last statement Gina cocked her head and jerked her thumb in Brianna's direction. "... and Naruto, well I just snapped... I'm sorry sis."

A sniffling Brittany nodded her head and wiped her tears then looked back at Gina. "So, what do we do now?"

Gina sighed and shrugged her shoulder. "Hell if I know, I suck at saving money, why do you think I try and go on digs that have a big payday?"

Brianna crossed her arms under her breasts and looked at Gina. "And what about our... situation?"

Gina smirked at the youngest Diggers and said, "Depends, you in or not?"

Brianna grinned slowly and nodded, knowing that for here there was really no choice. "You bet, sounds like fun, for both of us."

* * *

Naruto woke up the next day in the early afternoon. Rubbing a hand across his face the shinobi got dressed slowly then walked downstairs. When he didn't find anyone in the house he activated the locator seals he had on the girls and received three pings from the front yard. Yawning loudly, Naruto opened the front door and stopped cold at the scene in front of him.

Brittany was screaming at Gina and pounding on her force field, while Gina was screaming back. Brianna was off to the side and didn't know what to do to stop her raging sisters. All of the neighbors we're in the front yard gawking at the spectacle before them. Naruto groaned, dropped his head and sighed.

"KNOCK IT OFF!"

Everyone froze and slowly looked towards the irate shinobi. Brianna smiled brightly and ran over and hugged her blond hero tightly. Naruto sighed and hugged the very happy woman, making her hum happily. Letting go of Bri, Naruto crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at the yard. Multiple tables were covered with inventions, knickknacks and all kinds of bizzare items. 'Why do I need to deal with this kind of shit just after I've woken up? Did I do something to anger you Inari-sama**?'

"Now, would someone please tell me what the hell is happening?" All three girls started talking at the same time, loudly and rapidly as they tried to talk over each other. After several moments Naruto closed his eyes, rubbed the bridge of his nose and raised his hand to stop them all. Once the girls stopped talking he made his trusty cross hand sign and two clones appeared.

All of the neighbors gawked at this and began to mutter at the three identical men in front of them. Of course after many years of seeing Gina's inventions and experiments they were kinda jaded and just shrugged their shoulders, thinking it was business as usual at the Diggers home.

"Ok, Brittany, you go with this one and tell him your part of the story, Brianna, you get the other clone and do the same. Gina, please explain to me, what is happening. And the love of Inari, do not raise your voice, I have a really bad headache."

Gina muttered, "Sorry." Naruto sighed and pulled her into a hug.

"S'ok, I've regened about a quarter of my chakra but I haven't been this drained in years, I forgot how much it sucks. What's wrong?" As Gina looked at Naruto with tear filled eyes as she went into explaining what happened, from the owed money to the spent emergency fund, the idea for the yard sale that was happening and she finally ended on how Cheetah was selling all of her collectible cards and comics that she had been saving for years, stuff that was worth a fortune and was going for mere pennies.

Naruto sighed as his resistance crumbled. Gina had pulled out the secret weapon and used it without any mercy or remorse. 'Damned puppy dog eyes... Well played Gina, well played.'

"Ok, who bought the stuff, where did they go?" Gina sadly motioned at the group of teenagers behind Naruto and told him she had tried talking them into returning the items they bought but they just laughed in her face. Naruto sighed, kissed the top of Gina's head and walked towards the young teens. Once Naruto was standing in front of them all he crossed his arms over his chest and said,

"OK guys, there been a mistake, someone put out this stuff when they weren't supposed to. Also the person that sold them had no idea how much they are really worth so she sold them for next to nothing. I'll give you your money back but I need everything returned." Each of the teenagers in front of Naruto looked at him like he had grown a second head, they then looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"Right, like we're going to give'em back, that'd be stupid man! If they didn't wanna sell'em they should have paid more attention!"

Naruto sighed as he ran a hand over his face. "Well, I guess there's nothing I can do if... WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!"

Naruto pointed behind the group dramatically as a convenient(heh, yeah right) blast of smoke suddenly appeared, causing every teen to turn around. Grinning evilly Naruto made the ram seal and disappeared. Moments later the teens turned back to mouth off at the blonde 'idiot' but saw him walking away. "Stupid idiot, trying to distract us... huh? What the hell..."

Naruto grinned at the sounds of outrage behind him and pocketed the scroll he had been holding. "Never try and cheat a cheater."

Several teens ran up to Naruto but didn't say anything when they noticed his hands were empty. All of them began to swear violently as they stormed off. 'And they're gonna be so confused when they find their money in their pockets, heheheheheh.'

Gina grinned as she jumped into Naruto's arms and said, "Did you just..."

Naruto winked at Gina and whispered. "All safe in the scroll, don't worry. Now, what are we going to do to solve this problem?"

"Hey girl, I think I got the answer for ya."

Gina turned around and grinned. "ACE!"

Meanwhile with Brianna

Naruto-3 grinned as Brianna refused to let go of him as she let him know what was going to happen.

"And when will she be here?"

Brianna giggled as she checked her watch. "Any moment now, Gina's not going to be happy."

Naruto-3 nodded his head but shrugged his shoulders. "True, but what other choice does she have? She'll get over it, she's a strong girl. Um, did.. did you talk with her about what happened?"

Brianna gave Naruto-3 a sultry look as she pulled him closer to her. "You mean when she took advantage of your weakened state after this mystery technique nearly sucked you dry?"

Naruto-3 chuckled weakly and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. He calmed as Brianna giggled and kissed his cheek. "S'ok, I'd probably would have done the same thing. I'm not mad, at you or Gina. Trust me, everything's ok." Naruto sighed in relief and relaxed when Brianna suddenly leaned in for a deep kiss. Several moments later Brianna let the clone go and grinned at him as he fell flat on his ass in shock. "Later stud, got a few things to take care of."

This said the half were-cheetah sauntered off and Naruto-3 had a single thought running through his head. 'I'll never understand women.' Naruto-3 popped, knowing that the original would want to know what was going to be happening.

Over with Cheetah

Naruto-2 sighed as he tried to get a bawling Brittany to stop crying and tell him what was wrong. Finally he just gave up and held her while she kept crying into his chest. 'Dammit, why do I always get stuck with the shitty jobs!'

And Finally Back with the Original

Naruto grinned as he watched Gina nearly collapse in embarrassment, she even tried to hide under a paper bag at the appearance of her rival, Penny. Grabbing the paper bag and pulling it from her hands Naruto put his arm around her neck and chuckled. "Gina, come on, she came all this way, at least hear her out. For me?" Gina glared at Naruto with tears in her eyes as if he had betrayed her and Naruto mentally pumped his fist at his victory. 'HAH! Revenge is mine! Take that Puppy dog eyes!'

Gina sighed and looked back at Penny and nodded. "Fine, but only cause Naruto asked. What do you want?"

Penny took a deep breath closed her eyes. When she opened them again she had a resolute look and explained why she had appeared at Gina's home. "Gina, we've been going back and forth for too long, it's time to let this feud die. I'm willing to help you all get back on your feet, pay off the taxes and make sure your setup for your next expedition, all interest free. You can pay me back where ever you can, no time limits"

Gina narrowed her eyes as she considered what she had just been told. "What's the catch?"

Penny grinned as she said, "Well I'll give you two choices, first option is to give me something I want, the second one is you do me a favor and we're even."

Gina glanced at Naruto, Naruto glanced at Gina and shrugged his shoulders. "So what is it that you want exactly?"

Penny pointed at Naruto and smirked. "Him."

* * *

Brianna was whistling happily as she made her way towards Gina, thoughts of the kiss she stole running through her mind. Just as she arrived at the front porch, Bri heard Gina ask what Penny wanted and paled as she saw Penny pointing at Naruto saying, "Him."

* * *

Naruto-2 had finally managed to calm Brittany down and was leading her back towards her sisters when he heard the tail end of the conversation. A low growling beside him made him face palm as Cheetah stalked towards Penny. "Oh fuck me, I am outta here."

* * *

One popped clone later and Naruto's head whipped over and saw the furious were-cheetah stalking towards Penny. Naruto closed his eyes as he laughed boisterously. Gina immediately wrapped her arms around Naruto, Brianna slid in front of him and Cheetah stopped beside him, growling at the girl that had the audacity to try and take Naruto from them.

Naruto decided to play peace maker as Penny realized she had just made a big mistake by even insinuating that she wanted to take Naruto from them. "Now now girls, I think she was just joking, right Penny?"

Penny rapidly nodded her head and waved her hands in front of her, hoping none of the girls attacked her. "YES! I was only playin! I just want you to do a favor for me, that's all I want!"

As the girls were still angrily glaring at Penny, finally it was Naruto that took it upon himself to finish the negotiations. "And this favor is?"

"Well, long story short, my musclebound aunt needed me to cover a shift at Taco Hut for my cousin that's sick. So, I want Gina and Brittany to cover for me. I may be willing to help you all out but I want to get in one last dig, for old times sake."

Naruto hmm'ed, looked down at Gina. When she didn't stop glaring at Penny he grinned as he nudged her with his hip. As Gina's surprised eyes turned back to him, Naruto asked, "Well?"

Gina sighed as she thought about the offer. Looking back at her rival she nodded. "Deal"

* * *

"Why did I agree to this?" Brittany smirked at her sister and poked her in the shoulder.

"Because you can't say no to Naruto?" Gina sighed as the next customer appeared. A obviously fake smile appeared on her face as she said,

"Welcome to Taco Hut, can I take your order?" Ryan Tabbot blinked rapidly, took in the uniform Gina was wearing and began to laugh loudly.

"So this is why I was told to come to Taco Hut! Oh, this is hilarious!" Gina narrowed her eyes and gestured at the back room.

"Naruto's in the back grabbing more fries. And thirty seconds after he comes back I can have him kicking your ass from one end of the city to the other. So may I take your order so you can run away before I sic Naruto on you?" Needless to say, Ryan didn't order anything to eat at Taco Hut. Right after he ran away Brittany put her hand on her hip and looked at Gina.

"Since when is Naruto in the back? I thought it was only you and me." Gina looked back at her sister and smirked.

"Yeah, but he didn't know that."

* * *

Naruto watched from the roof top across the street from Taco Hut and narrowed his eyes in irritation. "Son of a bitch, I should have known tings wouldn't be so easy."

Naruto watched as Ace and Penny walked into the Taco Hut, that wasn't the issue. The issue was that right behind her there was a large crowd of approximately 800 people that were headed for said Taco Hut. "Last dig is right. Why did she make me promise not to help?"

Flashback

After Penny left Gina looked at Naruto and said, "You can't help, not even a little."

Naruto looked down at Gina as if she was crazy. "Say what? Why not?"

Gina rested her head against Naruto's chest and sighed. "I'm tired of it all, all the insults that we trade, the wedgie war has gotten completely out of hand not to mention the fact that we bargain with each other when we're in danger. It's got to stop and we are going to stop it. But she asked for me and Brit to do this, not you two, so you and Bri are gonna stay here. So, I want you to promise you won't help."

Naruto let out a irritated growl and nodded his head. Gina smiled beautifully and pecked Naruto on the cheek before she walked off with Brittany in tow. Brianna slid up beside Naruto and watched the pair leave. "Are you really going to stay here?"

Naruto grinned and looked over at Brianna. "Oh hell no, someone's gotta watch out for the girls. After all, I never let someone else hold all the cards in their hand, always gotta have an ace in the hole."

Brianna quickly hugged Naruto and let him go as he leapt to the roofs, silently trailing the resolute Diggers heading into the maw of terror... fast food service.

End Flashback

Naruto sighed as he leapt from the roof and entered the Taco Hut to give Penny a piece of his mind when he heard, "If going through this four-hour-taco-hell is what it takes for us to make amends, than it was worth it. Friends?"

Naruto smiled as he saw Gina put her hand out for Penny to shake. Penny looked at the hand and began to stutter a bit as she excused herself. As she turned around she saw Naruto and stopped cold.

"Your lucky I heard that. I think you have something to tell those people outside."

Penny nodded as she walked past the blond shinobi, feeling like she had just dodge a massive bullet. As she exited the Taco Hut Penny yelled out, "OK GUYS, HOW DO ALL 800 OF YOU FEEL ABOUT PIZZA BELL INSTEAD?"

At the deafening cheer Penny pointed to the named eatery and yelled out, "OK! MEET ME THERE IN 10 MINUTES!"

As the mob of people made their way to Pizza Bell, Penny walked back into Taco Hut again looking sheepish. Ace turned on his girlfriend and was about to lay into her for her latest stunt but Gina's hand on his arm distracted him. Gina stepped forward and extended her hand again. "Friends?"

Penny sniffled a little and grabbed Gina in an hug. "Friends."

* * *

Naruto sighed as he lowered himself into the hot tub in the Digger's backyard, the star lit sky above reminding him of when he would stay out late in Konoha and stargaze into the wee hours of the morning. Stretching his arms above his head Naruto grinned as he thought of how Gina and Penny together would make an amazing team, just like him and Sauske when they managed to bury the hatchet and work together. Naruto closed his eyes and relaxed as he let the heat wash away his worries and cares, that is until two soft pairs of feet walked along the deck towards him. Naruto put both arms up on the edge of the hot tub as he felt two curvaceous forms slide into the water and settle in beside him. "So are you two going to tale pity on me amd tell me what the hell is going on yet?"

Gina and Brianna giggled softly as they relaxed in the warm water. Gina was the first to break the silence. "When we first met you, both of us were prepared to fight for you till the bitter end. You're everything we look for in a guy, your hot and well built, but that's just the icing on the cake. You so sweet, caring and you'll do anything to keep us safe, not to mention you saved our lives. We both wanted you so badly we were almost ready to fight tooth and nail for you."

Brianna nodded her head as she continued the discussion. "But after the last dig, when you told Gina you couldn't choose either of us, we talked about the situation. And we realized that you were right, you couldn't choose one of us over the other. It's completely against who you are to hurt someone intentionally. We both knew you would keep quiet as we fought over you until one of us went too far or you just left to stop us from fighting. So, we've made a decision. But you need to agree to this too."

Naruto opened his eyes and looked down at both girls, realizing what they were getting at. "You really want to share one guy? That doesn't really seem like an ideal situation for you girls."

Gina and Brianna both smirked as they lightly jabbed Naruto's chest. Gina knew he would say that and had a perfect counter argument. "Uh huh, you'd be right normally, but someone here can make solid clone copies of himself, meaning that he is the ultimate multitasker. So, what's your answer?"

Naruto chuckled softly as he pulled both girls closer. "Heh, if only Ero-sennin could see me now."

Brianna and Gina both looked at Naruto in confusion. "Ero-sennin? As in Perverted Hermit?"

Naruto laughed loudly as he nodded his head. "That's right! Lemme tell you about the Perverted Hermit, Jiraiya, my Godfather."

Both girls settled in as Naruto began his tale about his greatest teacher and one of his best friends.

* * *

Omake – What did Naruto do that first year the first year he stayed awake?

Naruto inspected the containment cage for any imperfections as a single flaw could spell disaster. Satisfied that everything was in order he quickly exited his mindscape and looked at the sun high above his head. Smiling widely he formed a small battalion of clones to work on the issue involving their current... forced vacation.

"OK MAGGOTS! You know what we need to do, so off you go then!"

A thunderous "YOSHA!" and all three thousand of Naruto's clones disappeared, leaving the original to decide what he would do for the rest of the year.

'Well, all of the clones will be collecting information about this place... as much as we can get when we can't even speak their language that is. So until I get some of that intel, what can I do to keep myself busy? Hmm, maybe I could observe people with skills I want! Yeah, that's it!'

Just as Naruto was about to walk off and look for a person with some skills 3 extremely hot women walked past his line of sight and into an establishment that was a very obvious public hotspring. Slowly a perverted grin passed over Naruto's features as he made his way to the hot spring thinking,

'I've always wondered, what was the draw for Ero-Sennin to do this at every town we visited. Well, since there's no chance for retaliation, might as well take advantage of it.'

5 hours later

Naruto left the hot springs with a goofy expression on his face and one thought going through his mind.

'I have so found what I'm going to do for the next year.'

Meanwhile in a location far, far away

An older man was leaning back against a tree and enjoying the warm sun shining on his face. After a moment a loud chuckle escaped his mouth and he said,

"Ah, that's my apprentice, I knew I'd convert you eventually. All hail the Ero."

Omake End

Ok, first – I HATE FORMATTING, I always forget to go and reedit my stuff before posting them, went and inserted the break lines and other little formatting niggles.

Second – There is a poll, please go and vote, I'm giving you all a week to throw in your two cents on how this story is going to shape up In the future.

And third – Because of the poll I won't be getting to the Aebra part just yet, but I will be doing some of the ninja high school/ GD crossover bit.

So, review, vote and show your support!

I was going to also put in the next issue of the comic, but it was a perfect place to end so we'll leave it at that, Review all you who read this!

*- a curse cast on both Gina and Brittany gave them increasingly bad luck that would have resulted in their deaths, the audits were part of the curses progression

**Inari – Kami of foxes


	7. Chapter 7

I realized that I messed up and missed the explanation of what Peachbody and Benji decided to do. SO I'm re uploading this chapter with the fixed content. Sorry about the mistake guys, enjoy and review!

* * *

El Dorado was in chaos.

An early morning message received via hyper-pulse had sent the normally peaceful city into a mad scramble. The Dynasty had returned, setting their eyes on Aebra and the Kryn that inhabited it.

Stripe folded his arms as he thought of what he needed to do, not as a man but as a ruler to his people. "Rol, how long will it take for use to make El Dorado hyperspace worthy again?"

Rol was going over the internal systems on a nearby terminal before he gave his answer. "Most of the system's for the inner city are working fine, a few parts here and there and we'll be ready to launch, but..."

Jan jumped in at that moment with her own analysis of the situation, making sure Stripe knew what problems his idea would pose for the inhabitants of his city. "The inner city isn't the problem, the real issue is all of the weapon systems and the defenses are part of the outer city and it's impossible to repair those sections in time."

Stripe sighed as he looked towards his advisor, Primus, and nodded slowly. "Prepare the city for launch. We must help our people, it is our duty to save our people."

Jan's eyes widened in shock at the decision and she asked the question everyone was thinking. "But..what about Brittany, Stripe? Your getting married next week, aren't you?'

Stripe turned to face Jan, a burning determination in his eyes. "As the ruler of my people I have to put the needs of my people above my own... even above my love for Brittany."

Chapter 7

Naruto slowly opened his eyes as the sounds of the neighbors outside finally woke him up. Feeling two comfortable weights laying against him Naruto looked down and smiled softly as he looked at the sleeping forms of Gina and Brianna. Gina mumbled something in her sleep as she rested her head against Naruto's chest, drooling on his shirt and occasionally giggling softly. Brianna had claimed his shoulder as her personal space and was holding onto Naruto's arm as if she was afraid that someone would steal him from her. Both girls had refused to sleep with a clone after they had each popped one during previous nights and decided to both lay claim to whichever bed Naruto was in. Naruto closed his eyes and relished the feeling of peace and comfort that he had being with his girls. 'Heh, my girls.. never thought I'd be saying something like that. It's funny cause they're trying so hard to show me that they can do this, sharing me without turning on each other. Heh, I wonder if Theo will ever get over the shock of seeing both girls choosing to share me?'

Naruto chuckled as he remembered how Theo had reacted to the news.

Flashback

Theo glared angrily at Naruto, turned his gaze towards his daughters. "Girls, when I heard you were bringing over your current boyfriends, notice the plural word I used, I expected you to bring someone over here that would be suitability frightened by my... presence. But you come with one boyfriend and it's a shinobi that's holding a super powered being of hated and malice in his body? This is cheating girls, cheating of the worst kind. I've never been so disappointed in you both."

Both girls collapsed in laughter and Julia nearly joined them. Naruto merely smirked at Theo and held a fist out towards him. Theo, still grumbling did a half hearted fist bump then grinned ruefully at the shinobi he was trusting his girls to. "Well, they're your problem now, I better not hear about you breaking their hearts. And I expect you to be a gentleman and treat them with respect, clear?"

Naruto grinned as he nodded his head. "They both mean a lot to me and I plan on showing them that as much as I can. And as for treating them right, I had no intention of doing otherwise."

Theo turned back towards his daughters and smiled at their happy faces. 'Well, I guess I can miss out on my fun... this time.'

End flashback

Naruto grinned at the memory and used a kawarimi to replace himself with a large body pillow, both girls groaning unhappily but not making an effort to get up. Naruto grinned as he dressed in a pair of shorts over his boxers and then slowly walked downstairs. Once he reached the kitchen Naruto began pulling several pans out of the cupboards and cooking breakfast, not wanting to eat the various types of cereal the girls always seemed to have on hand. "Guess I've been elected head cook... heh, I can think of worse fates than cooking for three beautiful women. Good thing I spent a year observing several chefs in Jade, I doubt they'd want nothing but Ramen every day."

Creating several clones, the miniature brigade began to work, preparing pancakes, cooking sausage and bacon and waiting till the right moment to start the scrambled eggs and toast. All of the smells wafted through the house and started to rouse the other inhabitants. The first to arrive was Gina, tiredly rubbing sleep from her eyes. Naruto grinned and handed off his current chore, cooking the bacon, to a clone. He then grabbed Gina in his arms and kissed her softly. Gina giggled and wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck and deepened the kiss. After a few moments the pair pulled apart and looked at each other with matching grins. "Morning Kirei*, Bri still sleeping?" - *Beautiful

Gina yawned cutely as she nodded her head, not wanting to move from the spot she was currently occupying, a small grin on her face at the compliment she had been given. 'Too comfortable, I wanna be held by Naruto all day long. Why did I agree to go with Penny to Peru today? Oh yeah, cause I just had to find the freakin Fountain of Youth!'

Naruto grinned and pulled Gina's chair out for her as he placed a plate in front of her usual spot. Placing two other plates on the table Naruto finally sat down, getting comfortable beside Gina. Moments later a line of clones deposited their finished food on each plate and popped when they had completed their job. Just as the last clone popped Brianna walked into the kitchen with a mock scowl. "Gina, why didn't you wake me up! I love having those guys serve me breakfast, makes me feel like royalty or something!"

Naruto laughed into his hand as he tried no to choke on his eggs. Putting his fork down, Naruto grinned and kissed Brianna quickly as she sat down. "One Uzumaki breakfast special, Hime*. Eat up while it's hot." - *Princess

Brianna giggled at the pet name she had just been given by Naruto and sat down, savagely attacking the food in her hunger. Today was a day that she needed all the energy she could get and she wanted to get started right away. 'Finally, I get some quality alone time with Naruto! Gina's got her thing with Penny in Peru today so we both get to relax, after all Gina still doesn't want to let Naruto leave the house.'

After the scare Gina had when Naruto had drained nearly all of his chakra just to save her, the leader of the Digger team was adamant that Naruto was confined to bed rest and relaxation until she was sure that he was ok. His chakra was regenerating at a steady pace, another day or so and he'd be good as new, causing massive amounts of property damage and sowing chaos and anarchy among those he considered enemies... or he'd help move the really heavy stuff in the lab, which ever came first.

Naruto had initially grumbled about how he used to get over chakra exhaustion in a day or two tops and that he was fine, but after he was 'persuaded' by his new girlfriends he decided that relaxing wasn't such a bad idea after all this time. Although he was a little annoyed that Gina didn't trust him to not go overboard with his powers. 'Meaning, I also get to keep him 'occupied'... Oh yeah, I can think of a few ways to occupy his time...'

Brianna let out a sultry giggle as she remembered the things that she and Gina had done to keep the blonde man occupied and the 'rewards' the girls had experienced for their diligence in helping him recover from his ordeal. Leaning over, Brianna kissed Naruto's cheek as she went to deposit her plate in the sink. Naruto then put his plate in the sink right after Brianna and quickly slid behind her, giving her a light slap on her ass, making her squeal as she ran after the playful shinobi

Gina watched the entire scene and tried not to laugh, failing horribly as Naruto dodged, ducked, dipped and wove around each attempt Brianna made to catch him.

Finally finishing her breakfast Gina put her plate in the sink and her arm flashed out, grabbing Naruto by the sleeve and pulling him into a quick kiss. "Thanks for breakfast Naru, I got to get going to meet Penny for the trip we have to Peru."

Just as Gina stopped talking the front door was wrenched open then slammed shut and Brittany ran in completely out of breath. "Breakfast! Please tell me I didn't miss breakfast again!"

All three previous occupants of the kitchen smirked and gestured at the plates currently sitting in the sink. Brittany fell to her knees in defeat. "NOOOO! IT'S NOT FAIR! Naruto, why can't you wait till I'm back from my morning run to make breakfast, WHY?!"

Naruto grinned as he patted Brittany on her head and said,

"Do you really want me to get in trouble with these two? I've already spoiled them so if I don't have breakfast ready they'd torture me all day long!"

Gina and Brianna both giggled as they kissed Naruto's cheeks before they returned to their rooms to get ready. Naruto sighed as Brittany continued to sniffle at the thought of missing breakfast then grinned as he started to walk out of the kitchen.

"Hey, don't cry, it's ok...I left your plate in your room this time, enjoy Cheets!" Naruto laughed heartily at Brittany's outraged cry at his latest prank and grumbled as Naruto ran away from her with a jaunty wave. Brittany grinned softly as she thought,

'Heh, they're all so good for each other, I'm glad they worked it out. And after next week Naruto'll have a guy he can hang out with, when Stripe moves in after the wedding! I'm so excited, I can't wait till we're married!'

* * *

Naruto was currently sitting on a couch while Brianna sat in his lap, using a tablet system to remotely access Gina's servers that she had to work on today. Naruto was watching as Brianna waded her way through the file system, getting an idea of how it would work together with the rest of the world wide network Gina had setup. While not anywhere at the same level as his girlfriends, Naruto had a pretty good handle on finding problems in the software and could fix most basic problems, mostly to the devil's luck he possessed. Pointing to a file in the far right of the screen Naruto said, "That file, something looks off about it, take a closer look."

Brianna hmm'ed, zoomed in and accessed the file Naruto had pointed out. It then was projected above the screen in a hologram that represented the code of the file and after a few moments Briana looked at Naruto in triumph. "That's it! I've been looking for that messed up file for days! How did you find it?"

Naruto folded his arms and gave Brianna a mock glare. "Each file's icon can change it's graphic depending on the issue it's experiencing according to the notes Gina wrote on her new OS. And since I'm stuck here I went over said notes, didn't have much else to do when your both busy..."

Brianna narrowed her eyes and looked at Naruto. "You know it's just because Gina's worried about you, you're a big boy, you can take it. And I know your reading habits, how many clones did you use?"

Naruto looked away as he mumbled, "About five or so." but Brianna pressed her attack using the dreaded look, causing Naruto to sigh and admit, "Ok, OK! Five... hundred."

Brianna grinned evilly as she put down the tablet, looped her arms around Naruto's neck and kissed him softly. "Well, I think I can forget to mention this to Gina, that is if you were to... oh, I dunno, take me out on a date sometime?"

Naruto grinned as he leaned in for another short kiss and nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Wait, what's that noise?"

There was a loud beeping coming from the tablet Brianna had just dropped, picking it up she opened up the diagnostic tools and saw that an entire sector had just gone down. "Looks like the El Dorado server is on the fritz. Crap, now I'll need to go and repair it."

Naruto immediately grabbed Brianna in a desperate hug, surprising the girl so much that she looked at him in shock. "Please, lemme go instead! I just need to stretch my legs, that's all! Please please please please!"

Brianna began giggling madly as Naruto begged her to finally leave the house and rested her forehead on his chest till she calmed down. "Fine, I'll let you go, but your bringing backup!"

Naruto groaned in exasperation. "Ah come on! I don't need a babysitter!" But Brianna would not be swayed, Naruto finally relented and Brianna grinned at her victory.

* * *

Ten minutes later Naruto was ready for his trip but he was not alone. Seance had just shown up an hour ago to visit the Diggers between his lessons and Brianna drafted him into being Naruto's 'shadow' for the day. One light gate portal later the two young men were teleported to... a smoking crater in the ground?

"Uh Naruto? Did you press the right button?" Naruto nodded as he looked down the sides of the crater, looking for any hints on what happened. "Sure did, we better have a... ah dammit, son of a BITCH. Seance, you have a spell that will allow you to float down, right?"

Seance looked at Naruto in confusion and nodded slowly.

"Good, float your butt down there and have a look around. I need to...'educate' someone on proper technique... AGAIN. Don't worry, I'll be fine." Naruto shooed the very confused Aura mage down the crater as he put the server component back in his hip pouch and stood their, waiting. Several moments later a katana sliced through Naruto, dropping the now bisected man to the ground. A sinister laugh echoed through the under brush as Naruto's killer stepped out of the shadows, brandishing his newest weapon.

"A joke am I? Now we see who has the last laugh!"

10 minutes earlier

Erwin and he subordinates had finally arrived at El Dorado, home to the Kryn and a veritable buffet of new, powerful genetic material. Looking over the smoking area where the city had previously stood Erwin turned to his faithful ninja and provided his instructions. "Galford, it's time for you to go and search the perimeter, make sure there are no surprises lurking around for us."

Before 'Galford' left he raised his hand and locked his gaze on his current master. "Lord Talon, I must ask that you no longer call me by my true name. I have attained the pinnacle of my ninja skills and abilities and as such I am now know as .. DAISHI, THE GREAT DEATH!"

Erwin and Zelda both blinked slowly as the ninja before he vanished on his assignment. Erwin turned to Zelda, completely confused at what just happened. "Do you think he's lost it? He hasn't been the same since you told me that he lost to that guy in the arctic to a …. heheh, an ass poking."

Zelda chocked back her laughter as she remembered the incident. "Honestly, I don't know what he is thinking anymore, all I know is that's he's pissed and ready to kill someone."

Present time

As Daishi lorded over the fact that he had killed the man that humiliated him previously, he never noticed that the divided body turned into a destroyed log until he felt an axe kick from above send him crashing to the ground, face first into the remains of his wooden foe. Groggily jumping to his feet Daishi's eyes widened in pain and shock as he saw the supposed 'dead' shinobi launch a powerful palm thrust to his stomach, catapulting him away from the crater.

Daishi growled loudly as he held his aching stomach, the same disgrace of a ninja that had defeated him before grinned cheekily and pointed at the sword he now carried. "Aw look, I think someone is over compensating for something! How's it going Gayford? Gotten over your loss from a week ago?"

Daishi raced forward and with a primal roar he slashed down, splitting the upstart from shoulder to hip, knowing that this time he had surely killed the man. Moments as the two halves of his body fell to the ground a burst of smoke appeared and a split log replaced the body before him. Whirling around Daishi scanned the forest, failing to understand one simple thing.

He had already fallen into the man's trap.

* * *

Naruto chuckled softly as he watched the doomed wannabe scream out in frustration after the fifth time of 'killing' him and decided to take pity on him. Just as the wannabe began to monologue Naruto knew he had given him a perfect opportunity to strike and he took it.

".. I AM DEATH INCARNATE, FACE ME WHELP! I AM DAISHI AND I Will..." Naruto grinned as 'Daishi' trailed off and looked behind him in shock. Naruto grinned and slammed a full power rasengan in the surprised man's gut, sending him catapulting away into the underbrush of the jungle. Naruto cupped his hand around his mouth so the downed ninja in the jungle had a chance to hear what he had to say. "Well 'Daishi', you still suck! Come at me in about 20 years and you may be able to last thirty seconds in a real fight with me! Enjoy the time off while your abs heal! Oh and one more thing... ALL HAIL THE LOG, THE GREAT PROTECTOR OF ALL TRUE NINJA!"

Naruto grinned as a pained shout of anger from Daishi trailed of into a pathetic whimper, then our young hero turned around, running for the edge of the crater again, hoping that Seance hadn't bitten off more than he could chew.

* * *

Brianna was getting a little worried since she hadn't heard back from Naruto yet, he'd been gone for over 20 minutes and he still hadn't gotten the server back online. "Did something happen? It shouldn't take more than a few minutes to get it back online with that replacement I gave him."

Just as Brianna was about to contact Naruto through said server, Brianna's face paled as Gina walked into the lab. "Gina! Your back early! H-How did it go?"

Gina grinned as she took her spot at the computer terminal next to Brianna as she checked the integrity of the network. "It went great, the Peruvian government decided to create a national park around the fountain of youth that we discovered... what's going on with the El Dorado server? The logs show that it's been down for over half an hour."

Brianna began to sweat as she stammered, "It-t's a-all und-der control Gina, I got s-s-someone to go a-and get it back up..."

Brianna's voice trailed off as Gina looked around the control room they were in. Turning back to her sister Gina gave her a deadpan expression. "Brianna... where's Naruto?"

* * *

Just as Naruto reached the edge of the crater he heard a quiet ping from his pouch. Pulling the device he saw that Brianna was trying to page him so he quickly accessed the com protocols and linked back up to the main system so they could talk. "Hey Hime, can't talk now, got a bit of a...Oh hey, Kirei! Just get back from Peru?"

Gina glared at the shinobi as she said,. "Don't Kirei me mister! You are in so much trouble Naruto, what are you doing out of the house?" Naruto accessed several sub menus to try and show his girls what was happening, but the silent treatment he was giving Gina was too much for her to take as she angrily continued on with her rant. "I thought we agreed that you wouldn't go out on your own until you were a hundred percent again! What are you doing out there! Get back here, right now!"

Naruto finally finished with his work and a second picture appeared on the screens for Gina and Brianna to see the problem Naruto was faced with. "Gina, your the one who decided I should stay in the house, I'm fine, I know my limits and the only reason I even got that low on chakra in the first place was because we both thought there was no other options. And besides, we have bigger things to worry about, as you can see El Dorado ain't here anymore. Make sure Brit doesn't see this!"

Just as Naruto ended the call there was the sound of breaking glass behind Gina and Brianna, both girls turned around quickly and saw Brittany in the doorway, her fist buried into a monitor mounted on the wall and the look on her face telling them that she had heard everything. Gina had one word to sum up the situation and Brianna felt it was very appropriate.

"Shit."

* * *

Naruto climbed down the ruined outer perimeter of El Dorado and just as he reached the area where he could sense Seance he saw multiple flashes of light below him. 'Man, I am so glad I'm not as impulsive as before, I would have just run into that kind of insanity without a thought at the consequences.'

Landing on a half destroyed platform Naruto laid down and peeked over the edge, seeing the cause of the light show. Apparently Pee Wee had decided to have his goons double team Seance, the kid was holding his own but he was running out of options. Pulling back Naruto ran through a quick checklist.

'K, magic, magic, magic, what can I do against magic... well ,I remember Theo telling me it's weak against metal, also I see the asshole mage that stole the car is protecting himself with a magic wall... Oh, oh yeah, that'll work.' Grinning evilly, Naruto reached into a inner pouch stored in his jacket and pulled out the perfect weapon to deal with unruly mages. Leaning forward he used chakra to make his projectile stick to the back of his middle finger and lined up his shot, flicking his finger forward and let the weapon fly towards the opponent, making sure not to give it too much power or it would fly right through his target. 'After all, this is more about humiliation than anything. And losing to a iron marble is pretty damn humiliating!'

* * *

Ionis chuckled loudly as he continued to pound on Seance's defenses, knowing that they'd falter soon and when they did he'd be at their mercy. "Just a few more...ARGH!" Ionis fell to the ground, blinding pain exploding across his back, knocking the mage to his knees. Reaching back the shocked mage felt for blood but only felt a massive welt that hurt like a bitch! "What the hell was that! Nothing should have been able to penetrate my shields! Unless..."

Turning around the hurt mage's eyes widened comically as a shadow fell over him. Looking up he chuckled weakly at the irritated gaze of the blond man that had taken the Digger's car back in the Arctic. "I'm sorry?"

One swift kick to the jaw later and Ionis knew no more

* * *

'Yep, nothing like a cold iron special to put down a mage.' Naruto grinned, mission accomplished. Continuing down the hallway, Naruto slowly stalked towards the two remaining targets, his instincts telling him to make them suffer till they told him what had happened. Seance watched the shinobi slowly make his way towards Pee Wee and Zelda and did the smart thing, he powered down his aura and steeped back giving the man some space.

'I'm not stupid enough to pick a fight with him, Dr. Diggers told me that it could be the last mistake I made if I pissed him off enough.'

Just as Naruto was about to pass Seance he put his hand on the young mage's shoulder and grinned. "Good job keeping them busy kid, sorry I took so long."

Seance' watched the shinobi pass him and had to wonder, was this man really that dangerous?

Naruto turned back to the other occupants of the hallway and pierced them with his furious gaze, saying only three words. "What happened here?"

As Naruto's voice was heard a massive feeling of bloodlust engulfed the room and Seance felt the need to run very, very far away. 'Yep, just as dangerous as I was told.'

* * *

Erwin gulped loudly as he backed away from the deadly presence in front of him, the blazing aura in front of him stopping any words from leaving his slack jawed mouth. 'Where the hell is Daishi! This is exactly what I pay him for!' As if summoned by his thoughts, Daishi suddenly appeared... and was dropped to the ground by an identical twin of the frightening man in front of him. Apparently Erwin's ninja had bitten off way more than he could chew and was paying for it as blood sluggishly dripped from multiple deep gashes on his abdomen.

"He's still alive but your going to be in even worse shape if you don't tell me what you did here PEE WEE!" Naruto leaned forward, causing the genetics prodigy the fall on his ass trying to get away from the terror in front of him.

The entire time this was happening Zelda stood as still as a tree, hoping if she didn't move this... demonic being wouldn't change his sights to her.

Suddenly a light gate started to form behind Naruto and he pinched the bridge of his nose, having a pretty good idea who that was. 'Well, that secret lasted as long as I expected. Guess this means I get to play good cop now, I HATE playing the good cop. After all, she'll probably kill him if I don't stop her.'

* * *

Brittany was supposed to have a week of final preparations as she anxiously waited for her wedding. All the invitations were sent, the food was arranged and the bride and groom's entourages had been fitted and were prepared to help the wedding go off with a bang. But after she heard Naruto's last transmission from Gina's lab, Brittany's world collapsed on itself. 'He's gone... he's gone and I'll never see him again. Who ever did this dies, today, right now, immediately!'

Cheetah looked at the cowering geneticist in front of her and she stalked forward, grabbed his shirt and hauled him up. Rearing back Cheetah slammed the cowering child into the wall and growled out. "WHAT DID YOU DO."

Erwin babbled for a moment before he managed to get out, "Nothing, I didn't do anything! It was like this when I got here!"

Cheetah pulled her free hand back and before she could even think of using her claws on the terrified child in front of her an iron grip on her wrist stopped her cold. Cheetah's tear streaked face looked at Naruto's impassive features as she dropped the coward that was in her grip. "Let me go, he deserves this. He needs to know how much this hurts, he deserves to know what it's like!"

Naruto held the enraged were cheetah's wrist tightly as she strained to pull herself free, not willing to let her cross that line. "I've crossed that line dozens of times and I'll tell you this... you won't feel any better, you'll only hurt yourself in the end."

Cheetah 's eyes glared at Naruto as she took a swing at his face with her claws, expecting him to let go and let her go after Erwin. But Naruto never let go, even when he had four deep gashes trailing blood down his cheek. He hardened his gaze and held Cheetah's wrist tighter, still not willing to let her go. "I'm not letting go until you calm down."

Suddenly a third portal opened and Gina rushed out with her friend from Atlantis, Tyr. "Wait, Brit, Stripe's not dead, he's ok... JINKIES! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!"

Gina's words finally penetrated Cheetah's rage filled mind and she gasped at what she had done. Desperately she tried to pull away from Naruto but he refused to let her go. Tears poured from Brittany's eyes as she realized she had attacked one of her closest friends and she did her best to run from that knowledge. But Naruto still refused to let her go. Brittany felt warm strong arms pull her into a tight hug and she heard Naruto whisper in her ear. "S'ok, I'll help you find him. We'll get him back, alright?"

Brittany finally broke down at these words, sobbing into Naruto's chest as she clung to him, the stress of everything that had happened finally catching up with her. Gina walked forward and softly ran her finger tips over the new additions to her boyfriends face and nearly cried. Naruto winked at her grinned. "Regeneration. Gimme a day and this'll be a bad memory. Now, as for these guys..."

Looking behind him Naruto saw Ionis weakly raise his hands and cast, "Gate of Retreat!" causing all of Pee Wee's goons and the boy himself to vanished. Naruto sighed as they faded from view, turning back to the others. Naruto sighed as his clone finally dispersed and he turned back to the remaining members of his group. "Well that wasn't a surprise. So, tell us what happened, where's Stripe?"

* * *

Tyr looked at the man holding Brittany and grinned as she realized who it was. 'Ah, so this is the man that's caught both Gina and Brianna...very nice.'

"Well, we just received the message, Stripe probably sent it to us so that he would have more time to leave us all behind. The message is mostly for you Brittany, here it is." Naruto finally released Brittany and she took the small comlink, watching the message her fiance had sent her.

"An emergency situation has occurred. I and my people are left with no choice but to leave the Earth. I cannot say why, I fear some of you would be distressed if you knew and I don't want any of you to be endangered by the peril I must now face..." Brittany sniffled as she listened to the messages, seeing her lover tearing up as he continued on. "Brittany... don't try and follow me, I want you to be safe. But, I will return to you. I promise..."

As the message ended Brittany dropped her hand to her side as her tears returned. Naruto shook his head as he held Gina in his arms. "Emergency my ass. He had the look of a man on his way to war."

Everyone looked at the shinobi in surprise, realizing there was so much they still didn't know about him. Naruto looked down at Gina and grinned. "Time to find the a-ho*, kick him in the ass for leaving us behind and beat the shit outta whoever decided to mess with him. No on messes with my friends and family." - * idiot

Gina buried her face in Naruto's chest, a quick nod was her only confirmation of what he had said. Looking over at Brittany Naruto grinned as she dried her tears, nodding resolutely. Tyr watched the entire exchange and couldn't help but smile. 'This man is more than just a warrior... he's a true leader, he inspires all who would follow him. Truly someone to watch in the future.'

The next day, on another plane of existance

Among the many places Gina and her friends have visited, the Chronoverse has to be one of the most unique. An entire plane of existence completely filled with time bubbles, one for each period of history. There was no life forms that inhabited it , but if you we're to go there right now you would see a boy and his loyal dog sitting on the wing of a futuristic fighter craft. "Benji, my dear attack boy, we have failed. Canines will no longer rule the earth!"

Er... I mean it was a canine overlord and his loyal attack boy that were sitting on the hovering fighter.

Dr. Arthur Peachbody rested his head on his paws as he thought of how t had all come to this.  
"Those damn interfering humans, they have destroyed all that I have worked for! Especially that pesky Gina Diggers!"

Peach body's loyal attack boy Benji scratched his head in confusion, not understanding the problem. "But why can't we just go back in time to get rid of those pesky humans?"

Peachbody turned to his attack boy as what he had said rattled around in his brain. After explaining the way that time bubles work in the Chronoverse an idea had finally occurred to him. "Wait, if we go back to an earlier time period... Yes, that's it! Benji, we need to enter a time zone 25 years before the Gina's parents are married so we can leave a small... present to congratulate them!"

* * *

Naruto was laying his head in Brianna's lap as she gently ran her fingers through his hair. Brittany was glaring at the phone, practically begging it to ring and tell her the news she desperately needed to hear. Her gaze was initially hopeful, but several telemarketers had slowly changed it to it's current annoyed expression.

Genn was looking at the whole scene and decided to ask the questions that were bugging her. "Umm, what's wrong with Brittany? And did I miss something between you two?"

Brianna looked a little hesitant to say anything about her and Naruto, well aware of the angry were-cheetah in front of her and not wanting to set her off. Naruto, ever the blunt one, didn't even open his eyes as responded to the inquiry. "Yes, you did and Cheets is waiting for a call about Stripes location. El Dorado took off yesterday and none of us know where it went, Gina's looking into it."

At that moment the phone rang and Brittany immediately answered the phone. Brianna softly said, "Oh God, please don't let it be another telemarketer..."

But the second that Brittany listened to the voice on the other line her expression went to ecstatic. "Gina, where is he! Tell me and I am so there! What?! No... I understand, thanks..."

Naruto let out a deep breath and rose to his feet, crouching beside the kneeling girl as he asked, "So, where is he?"

Brittany sniffled a little bit and handed the handset to Naruto, who took it to get the answer from the source. "Gina? Cheet's isn't saying anything, what's going on?" Naruto nodded several times as he listened to his other girlfriend explain the situation. Finally when she had finished with her explanation Naruto grinned and chuckled softly. "Oh ho...well, well, well, I've always wanted to go to outer space. Tell me what you need and it's yours, I finally got some cash lying around from my...'operation'."

Just then a loud alarm sounded, causing everyone to cover their ears. Naruto, Brittany and Brianna all suddenly were plunged into a black abyss as a voice finally letting the trio know what was happening.

"Temporal anomaly! Warp field effect activated!"

Naruto grabbed onto his girlfriend and landed in a crouch on a large metallic platform, looked up right into the worried eyes of... "Gina? What happened?"

Brittany stood and dusted herself off and looked at their surroundings. Strange flowing patterns of black were strewn around the abyss they appeared to be floating in as far as the eye could see so she turned to Gina for an explanation. "This is our Warp Field Device, it's a fail safe to stop our personal time lines from being messed with. It was programmed to warp all four of us here if anything threatened our past."

Walking over to a computer system behind her Gina opened a file and the screen was filled with the picture of a black Labrador. Naruto cocked his eyebrow and pointed at the picture in front of him.

"Wait a minute, is that dog... smirking?"

Gina nodded and explained just what had happened when she, Penny, Ace and... Tabbot had encountered this mutt earlier. Naruto laughed and put his arm around Brianna when he was told about her joke. "Nice Hime, I couldn't have done better myself, making Kirei think that she's been gone for 25 years..." Naruto trailed off as Gina looked at him and narrowed her eyes in irritation. Naruto immediately did a complete reversal on his earlier statement. "I mean that's terrible, tricking your sister like that! Shame on you."

Brittany giggled uncontrollably at the fake sincerity dripping from Naruto's voice and Gina just hung her head in exasperation. "Anyways, the Device found something wrong with our personal time stream and pulled us into Null space to protect us. So we need to find the issue, Brianna come over her and give me a hand, unless we find out what's wrong we'll be stuck here, forever...jinkies!"

Naruto grinned at Brittany as his girlfriends began to scan the Chronoverse for the anomaly. "Gotta say having two geniuses for girlfriends makes it fun, you never have a boring day."

Moments later Gina said, "AH HAH!" and brought up another image on the screen. "There! The mutt is trying to stop us from being born! He's targeting Mom and Dad during their honeymoon!"

Naruto immediately narrowed his eyes in irritation. "Please find him... I need to express my displeasure with this plan... NOW."

Brittany grinned and ruffled Naruto's hair. "Aw come on, I'm sure Gina has a plan to shut rover down, dontcha sis?"

Gina smirked as she walked towards the edge of the platform where her Chronoskimmer/car obediently hovered. "Don't worry, me and Brit'll take care of this, you two stay here as backup!"

As the girls blasted off into the Chronoverse to fix the problem, Naruto looked back and saw Brianna wipe her eyes. Walking behind her Naruto pulled the woman into his arms and held her tightly. "Hey Hime, tell me what's wrong. Then I'll go and kill it, stuff it and mount it for making you sad."

Brianna weakly laughed at Naruto's lame joke and leaned back against his chest. Sighing deeply Brianna voiced her fears to her boyfriend. "It's just... I'm being left behind again, but I can understand why, since I don't really have a past, I'm just a copy of those two."

Naruto quickly spun the girl in his arms around and she was faced with the most serious look she had ever seen on Naruto's face. "You are not a clone or a copy. You are a person, an individual that is as different from your sisters, you may have come from them but you are your own person. Do you think I really would want an exact copy of Gina as another girlfriend? Heck no, you're unique, you have different hobbies, dreams and hopes than your sisters!"

Brianna nearly broke down as she held Naruto close to her, her feelings of doubt fading away slowly. The monitor behind then blinked on and Gina finally let them know what was happening. "Got it! Looks like a Gamma bomb! But it's strange, it's got such a low yield... oh that dirty bastard! It'll sterilize mom and dad!"

Gina muttered to herself for moment when suddenly something that looked like a stubby gun popped out of the back of her Gina mobile. "One high energy emp should take care of it... Yes, it's dead, time to head home!"

Naruto kissed Brianna's cheek and chuckled as he heard Brittant's confused voice pipe up. "Why are ya peeling out so fast sis?"

Gina's reply was a terse, "Gotta get up to 88!"

Everyone relaxed as the Gina mobile mk II reached their Warp platform again but before Gina and Brittany could get out the alarm went off again, this time with an error code. "CRITICAL WARNING: ERROR NO.063-X!"

Gina looked at the screens in the car and screamed in fear. "AHHHHH! ZOINKS! NO! Brianna! Tell me what happened!"

Brianna immediately jumped on the system and advanced the time line slowly and crowed in triumph.  
"I got it! Two minutes after you left a flower truck pulls up and... oh no..."

The screen changed to a smirking Mutt and his attack boy that was holding a potted plant.

"But.. but... he wasn't there before! How the hell did h... oh you son of a bitch! He must have planted the bomb years ago through an other time bubble, that's how he can get into this one! We're locked out! WE ARE GOING TO DIE!"

"Not if we can help it! Naruto, grab on!" Briana immediately deployed her power armor and raced off towards the same time bubble her sisters had entered. Naruto was crouched on top of the thruster assembly on top, his chakra protecting his feet from the heat and causing him to stick. as falling off in the Chronoverse would be considered by most to be 'Very bad'.

Gina bit her lower lip in worry and yelled after the two, "But Brianna! Your a copy of the two of us, you may not be able to get through!"

Brianna smirked and replied over the com system, confidence dripping from her voice. "A year ago, sure I would have agreed with you, but I am my own woman, Naruto helped me see that! Now we're going to kick some canine ass!"

The pair pushed forward and pierced the time bubble, making it back just in time to stop Benji from reaching the door. Naruto leaped off of Brianna's armored suit and landed in front of the surprised attack boy. "Ah ah ah, not another step."

Naruto lashed out with a side kick that sent the attack boy skidding back and the followup micro missile spread from Brianna sent him running back to his owner.

* * *

Peachbody growled loudly as he saw Brianna and a unknown blonde riding on her shoulders send Benji running towards the van, ruining their plot to destroy the Diggers daughters. 'Damn! I assumed that Brianna would not be able to cross over into the era after her sisters already had! Her interference and this new player are foiling my plan! Luckily I have another I can fall back on.'

The back of the delivery van opened up and three large fire breathing dragons flew out, immediately homing in on Brianna and the blonde haired man assisting her. 'Now we'll see if they can stand up to canine bio synthetic technology!'

Break

Naruto turned his head as he heard the commotion from the delivery van and pointed excitedly at the emerging dragons. "I get to fight a dragon! Awesome!" Naruto flipped away from a blast of fire breath and pulled a kunai from his pouch as well as a explosive tag. 'Time to show the girls just what some of my gear can do.'

As Naruto let the projectile fly towards his target his heart nearly stopped when Brianna flew closer, not knowing what was going to happen. 'OH SHIT, GOTTA MOVE!' Naruto focused his chakra, speeding up immensely due to the Shunshin jutsu and grabbed Brianna around the waist, pulling her away from the tag.

"Naruto! What the heck are you doing!" Naruto didn't answer her as he focused on getting out of the blast range. Just as he was clear he set of his tag and Brianna stopped asking questions, the massive explosion behind the pair clearly let her know why Naruto had grabbed her. Naruto skidded to a stop and let Bri down and said,

"Sorry hime, didn't have time for you to get out of there, the tags I use can be set off remotely but when it's thrown it'll go off in ten seconds even if I don't do anything! They're also a lot more powerful than most, I made them with Kurama's chakra so they've got a real bang to'em!" Brianna looked behind her and saw two of the dragons burning away merrily. Looking back over at Naruto she narrowed her eyes at him, unfolded her portable cannon and destroyed the last dragon. Bri then grabbed her man, before anyone could see what was going on outside and blow their cover, making tracks for the exit point back to the Chronoverse.

Just before they penetrated the barrier Brianna smirked at Naruto. "You've been holding out on us Naruto! What else can you do that we should know about? And can I use those pieces of paper that explode too or is just a ninja thing?"

Naruto laughed out loud and grinned. "Awww, come on Hime, I can't tell you all my secrets yet! Lets just say there's more to see and yeah, it's a ninja thing, the tags wouldn't work for you, sorry babe."

Brianna grumbled softly as they landed, hoping to get a new weapon that she could play with. Gina and Brittany ran up, Gina launching herself towards Naruto and laughing happily as hisarms wrapped around her. "YOU DID IT! History is back the way it should be! Diggers team 2, Mangy mutt big fat 0! "

Naruto grinned as he pulled Brianna into the hug, glad that they were both alright. "Told you that you were your own person Hime. Now, back to finding Stripe so I can give him an ass kicking for leaving us behind, lets go!"

Meanwhile in the Depths of Space

Stripe was currently on the bridge, monitoring the situation as El Dorado raced back to Aebra. The current pilot, Jan, looked at her friend and sighed, worried about his health. 'He's been here for forty hours, that's not good for anyone!'

"Stripe, you need to sleep, I can call you if anything happens."

Stripe was about to respond when he suddenly shivered, feeling like someone had walked over his grave. For some reason Stripe imagined Naruto standing in front of him with a maniacal grin and cracking his knuckles. 'Uh oh, that can't be good. Why do I feel the sudden urge to run and hide for all eternity?'


	8. Chapter 8

Well, you ask for more and here it is!

This chapter follows The Time Warp Arch, an 8 issue crossover arch with Ninja High School. So I will be skipping around quite a bit unless they include the main cast of the fic, Naruto and the Diggers. Their may be several flashes to... humorous scenes, but that will be it. SO, if you want to read the full story, you can go to , it has all of the GD comics up to issue 200 for FREE. The GD issues involved in this arc are 32-35. The other half of the story is in issues 54-57 of Ninja High School, those I don't have a handy link to catch up with but if you guys wanna find them badly enough I know you can, after all the internet has EVEYTHING. :P

So, on with the chapter

* * *

Naruto grinned as he watched Brianna setting up the target dummies for him at the far end of Sub level 20, aka 'The Pit of Boom!', where all the highly destructive weapons that Brianna developed were tested before she used them in the field. 'After all, with some of the gear she packs she'd want a nice out of the way test facility...and kilometer of bedrock should insulate anyone from the fall out of just about anything that she can cook up. But really, I'm more interested in watching her ass wiggle, oh yeah...'

Naruto's lecherous eyes watched as Brianna finished her setup and turned back to her boyfriend. Smirking at the look on his face Brianna slowly made her way towards Naruto, looping her arms around his neck when she reached him. "We can play later Naru, right now I need to see what you can do so there's no more surprises. After the last fight we had where I would have been barbequed if you hadn't saved me, I think it's time you at least tell one of us what you can do, ok?" Brianna used her puppy dog eyes just like Gina had told her, knowing that Naruto would give in quickly under the attack.

Naruto sighed and rested his forehead against Brianna's, knowing that he wouldn't get out of this without paying the toll. "Ok, you win, I'll show you some of the things I can do. BUT! None of the really destructive stuff, I don't wanna have a crater in the the suburbs of Atlanta ." Brianna giggled as she held Naruto closer.

"Oh come on, you can't be that powerful! This place is able to withstand anything just below a nuke, you won't even scratch the walls Naru!" Naruto smirked as he locked eyes with his girlfriend in his arms. That day, Brianna learned a VERY important lesson that she would never forget.

Never assume that Naruto can't do something than throw it in his face as a challenge.

Chapter 8

Gina sighed as she put away the rest of the groceries with the help of a Naruto-clone. Sliding up behind her helper Gina jumped on his back, surprising him and making them both fall to the floor. The clone had managed to twist around enough so that Gina was straddling Naruto as she grinned at him.

"Now that the chores are done, how about we..." Gina trailed off as she leaned forward and captured the clone's lips, more than happy that each was a perfect copy of the original, personality and all.

Naruto-2 put his arms around Gina as she ground herself against her pinned playmate for the afternoon. When Brianna had won the coin toss to be with the real Naruto all day, Gina's saddened look was all it took for Naruto to provided a clone to... distract her from the loss. Just as Gina pulled away with a satisfied smile she saw Naruto-2 look to the outside window quizzically. "Gina, not that I didn't enjoy that but, I think something's wrong... there's something moving down below."

Gina grinned saucily and pushed back a little, hitting something hard and giggled. "Oh yeah, I'd say something below me is moving alright."

Before the Naruto clone could correct her on what he had meant, both of them felt the house violent shake for several moments, multiple kitchen items flying around and finally dropping on the pair. Gina's eyes widened in shock as she pulled herself up and accessed the complex systems from a wall terminal, trying to track down what happened. "The tectonic sensors pinpointed that disturbance, it came from... sub level 20, I should have known! Come on, we're gonna go and give Brianna A PIECE OF MY MIND!

* * *

Brianna cautiously opened her eyes and peeked around the rigid body of Naruto that was blocking her sight. The devastation in front of her nearly made her scream. A moment later she did and pointed at Naruto accusingly. "AHHHHH! What did you do!?" The once pristine weapon test site was now doing it's best impression of a crater... and doing a mighty fine job I might add. The previously mirror finished walls were cracked and broken, the ceiling looked like it would collapse at any moment and reveal the bedrock above their heads and the floor... well, the floor was just plain gone. Ten feet in front of Naruto there was a very large, very deep pit and any trace of the target dummies that were supposed to be there had been obliterated.

Just as Brianna stood up the elevator behind her opened and Gina came out, Naruto-2 saw the devastation in front of him and slapped a hand over his eyes saying, "Oh come on man, it hasn't even been a day since the last time you blew something up!" The main Naruto dropped to his knees and took a deep breath, causing him to cough softly as he rasped out, "Well, she did challenge me to break the place, so I didn't want to disappoint her."

Both Gina and Brianna immediately stopped what they were doing and homed in on Naruto, noticing that he hadn't escaped the blast unscathed. Numerous slashes and cuts covered his face and exposed arms, his clothes hanging from his body in tatters. Gina's hands trembled as she reached forward to touch him but instead she gasped as she watched the cuts slowly start to heal themselves. Naruto grinned painfully as he looked at the concerned girls in front of him.

"S'ok, few hours from now these'll be gone. And don't worry, I'll fix the place back up, good as new. Sorry about the..." Naruto's voice trailed off when he felt both girls holding him close. It was Brianna that finally broke the silence.

"We don't care about that as long as your ok. What happened anyways?"

Naruto chuckled as he held his girls closer and watched as pieces of the ceiling slowly fell to the ground front of him as they finally surrendered to gravities pull and massive amount of damage they sustained. "I used a technique called Fūton: Atsugai(Pressure Damage). It makes a windstorm of razor sharp blades that can slice through just about anything. That was what you saw for a moment Brianna before I realized that it was too big and it would have hit you."

Brianna squeezed Naruto a little tighter and a muffled, "Dummy, I didn't want you to hurt yourself! Don't you ever do that again!" rose from his chest where Brianna had buried her face.

Naruto grinned as he kissed the top of Brianna's head and held both girls close. "Ok, just don't try and say I can't accomplish something like that again, I make a habit of upsetting anyone that tried to put a limit on me before and I seriously doubt I'll stop now."

As both girls helped Naruto to his feet, Brianna had a sudden thought. Turning to Naruto, she asked the question both girls were thinking. "Wait, was that your most powerful attack?"

Naruto laughed heartily as he leaned on both girls shoulders as he shook his head. "My most powerful attack? Nah, that's not even in the top three!"

* * *

The aborted 'abilities test' where both Gina and Brianna learned just how powerful Naruto was happened just a few days after they had returned from their adventure in Chronospace. Everyone had been working non stop since then to get ready for their expedition to space to help Stripe and then drag him back to Earth. Gina was in the middle of tinkering with a badly damaged hyperdrive, Brianna was working on the spaceship's hull and Naruto... Naruto was doing the hardest thing of all of them.

Keeping Brittany occupied.

It had started with a simple game of keep the tuna away from Brittany to try and cheer her up, of course in her current high strung state it had rapidly escalated into a no holds barred battle royal that continued on for the entire day, Naruto's godly stamina letting him continue fighting and Brittany's love and her obsession over her Chicken of the Sea kept her pushing past her limits all day long.

Ever since then both Gina and Brianna agreed, Naruto was in charge of keeping Brittany occupied. So, he did this the best way he knew how.

Training. Lots and lots of grueling training.

* * *

Brianna was on her hands and knees, drinking in huge gulps of air as she tried to catch her breath again. Naruto stood above her impassively and gave her a moment to collect herself while he critiqued the fight they had just finished.

"You've got great speed and strength Cheets, but you have forgotten the most deadly thing of all that you possess." Naruto crouched down, raised his finger and softly poked Brittany's forehead.

"This, this is the most deadly weapon you have. Now I know your not a super genius in multiple fields like Gina, but your damn smart when it comes to fighting. I've seen flashes of brilliance when we've fought, the times you've gone and done something off the wall to try and beat me. What I'm saying is use that to your advantage." Naruto offered his hand to Brittany and hauled her to her feet. "Now...how about we go see how things are progressing?"

At Brittany's tired nod Naruto grinned and spun and crouched down, holding his arms out in a classic piggy back pose. Naruto glanced back at Brittany and gave her a cheeky grin. "Wanna ride? You look a little winded."

* * *

Gina was making progress on the engine that she had managed to recover from El Dorado, but it was slow going. 'No surprise there, it's old, shot to hell and I don't want to ruin the only drive I have to work from by trying to start it up.'

Just as she was about to return to her work a sound from the hallway caused the genius to look at the door and smile softly. Naruto was regaling Brittany with one of his childhood stories and Brittany couldn't stop laughing her head off. 'Heh, if Naruto wasn't here I bet Brit would be trying her best to help out, trying to make herself not think about the situation. Guess he's good for the entire family, not just me and Brianna.'

Naruto grinned cheerily at Gina as he set his cargo down on her own feet and ran forward, grabbing Gina in a hug and greeting her with a kiss

"Hey Kirei, we wanted to have a look and see how things were going." Just as Gina was about to let the pair know where she was at with her project Brianna burst into the room, grinning like a loon as she latched onto Naruto's arm.

"It's finished! The hull is ready to go, come and see what I made all by my lonesome!" Naruto shrugged his shoulders at Brittany and Gina and all three of them followed the happy youngest sister to viewer on the wall and looked at the ship. Naruto cocked his eyebrow as he pointed at the craft on the screen, a niggling memory in the back of his mind.

"It looks good Hime... but hang on, I've seen that design before... now I remember! That's one of the ships from the Last Starfighter, the movie you had me watch with you last night!" Brianna giggled as she held onto Naruto's arm and nodded her head. Just as she was about to say something the viewer changed as a call came in and everyone was suddenly looked at the smiling face of Penny.

"Hey Brianna, I see your keeping your man on a tight lease, good job girl. Just called to let you know that the missile engines you needed are in, you should get them in about a week."

As Brianna continued her conversation with Penny Naruto looked back when he heard Gina growling. As Naruto's eyes met Gina's she growled in frustration. "I can't believe she did that, I already have engines that'll work in space! And their better than the ones that she could have purchased!"

Naruto closed his eyes and was about to chuckle when he heard Penny finish off her conversation with,

"So, it came to 250 grand, I'll bill your boyfriend just like you said I could." Naruto's head whipped back around and he looked at Brianna with a wide eyed look of shock. Brianna chuckled weakly as she let his arm go and slowly started to back away.

"Heheheh... um, you weren't supposed to hear that part yet. Thanks for nothing Penny!" Penny flashed a V at the Diggers and ended the call. Naruto turned towards the slowly retreating Brianna and walked towards her, his hands held out in front of him.

"Hime, you just lost me a quarter of a million, for something we don't even need? Time for you to take your punishment, my most fiendish of all my techniques!" Brianna's eyes widened as she quickly backed up but she hit a wall. Naruto lunged forward and held her by the sides as he announced his attack.

"Unmei no kusuguri kōgeki!" (Tickle Attack of Doom)

Meanwhile in the Chronoverse

This universe of multiple timelines had seen several special visitors over the last few years. A canine genius bent on ensuring his time line occurred. A group of young adventurers that stumbled upon the Bermuda triangle access point by accident. And most recently a strange ship created by Professor Azland was carrying Mita Celande, time traveler extraordinaire and her assistant, May.

May sighed, her only though was if they would be able to get back to movie night. 'This always happens right when we get to the good part too! Though, if that's the problem I think I can see why we're here.'

May looked in front of the advanced time machine that they were riding at the mass of floating chaotic energy that hung silently in their path. "What the heck is it?"

Mita's hands were flying over the controls as she analyzed the situation and turned to her helper. "Well, I'm still trying to determine exactly what it is, but I do know it is getting bigger. If it keeps growing at the same pace it has been then it could tear apart time and space!"

May looked at the large sphere of chaotic energy and gulped. "So, something pretty bad then."

Mita let out a bark of laughter as she continued to analyze the phenomenon in front of them. "An understatement if I ever heard one... Well, according to these readings the anti gravity engines on this craft should be able to stop it... if it's not too big that is."

Just as Mita was about to reach over and use her engines on the rift a voice called out and said,

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Mita stopped herself just before she could activate her engines and look towards where the voice came from. A futuristic fighter craft appeared, piloted by a... dog?

Mita blinked several times, not quite trusting her eyes as the mysterious dog continued on. "I am Doctor Alfred Steiner Peachbody and this is my... friend, Benji. We have been analyzing this time warp for some time now and you are trying to do what I think you are, you'll cause more harm than good."

Mita slowly lowered her had from the controls as she listened to Dr. Peachbody, wanting to know what exactly his intentions were. "My name is Mita Celande and this is my assistant May, what can you tell us about this time warp? Will you help us close it?"

Dr Peachbody kept an evil smirk off of his face and continued on with his prepared tale. "Of course I will assist you in closing this time warp, it threatens the entire time stream and it must be stopped! I have traced it's origins to a location in the early 21st century, we can collapse the time warp by shutting down the device causing it! I will stay here and monitor the anomaly if you and your assistance can transport yourselves to the following temporal coordinates."

Mita began to input the provided temporal coordinates to warp both her and May to the new location. May cracked her knuckles in anticipation of stopping the bad guys that were making her miss movie night, a lone thought accompanying said anticipation. 'Next stop, Atlanta Georgia! This'll teach you to mess with my movie night evil doers!'

* * *

Gina smirked as she watched Naruto 'punish' her younger sister. Brianna was screaming out in laughter as Naruto continued to tickle her into submission. After she had tried to kick him away, several clones appeared and held Brianna down as Naruto used her inability to move to fully deliver the attack. Brianna continued to scream bloody murder as she tried to get free, but the clones held tight while the original went in for the kill. "Now Hime, do you promise to double check if we already have things you want to buy, I can't have you wasting my money."

Brianna sucked in a deep breath between her laughter and yelled, "YES! NOW STOP TICKLING ME FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! I'M GONNA PEE MY PANTS IF YOU KEEP THIS UP!" Naruto grinned as he stood up and dispelled his clones. Brianna relaxed immediately and put an arm over her eyes as her giggling slowly died down. As she looked out from her arm and rolled away from her boyfriend in a huff of anger. "I'm not talking to you right now, go away Naruto!" Naruto grinned at the others and knelt down and whispered something in Brianna's ear. When he finished the previously sulking girl sat up and looked at Naruto intently. "Seriously? You mean it?"

Brittany smiled at the cute scene in front of her, Gina on the other hand put her hands on her hips and looked at her boyfriend with a deadpan expression. "And what exactly did you just give her, hmm?"

"Oh, nothing really! I just said I'd follow up on something that Brianna wanted me to do for her, that's all!" Naruto put his hand behind his head and laughed nervously, hoping that Gina didn't call him on his bluff.

Gina stared at Naruto for a few more moments then let out a sigh. "Ugh, alright, only cause I have so much work to do I'll let it slide, this time... but next time your going to tell me exactly what your doing for her, you got it?"

Naruto grinned and nodded when he suddenly looked above with a contemplative expression. "Gina, were we expecting company?"

Gina sat down at the nearest terminal and pulled up some security footage and nodded. "Yep, looks like Ryan is here, he wanted to talk to me about something, he never did say what it was about..." Gina trailed off as she heard Naruto begin to chuckle evilly. Standing up, Gina walked forward and flicked Naruto between the eyes, causing the shinobi to cry out in shock.

"OW! Kirei, what was that for?" Naruto leaned back as Gina thrust her finger in his face and laid down the law.

"Naruto, you can't keep scaring the crap out of him! Seriously, the last time I saw him, Ryan was jumping at every shadow and stray noise, sure it was funny at first but enough is enough!" Naruto sighed and folded his arms over his chest, a pout appearing on his face.

"Fine, I'll leave him alone... for now. He does something stupid, he goes right back on the scare tactics regimen. I'll let the guys know that it's time to pop." Raising his hand, Naruto made the sign to relay his thoughts to his active clones. All of the girls were looking at Naruto with expressions of confusion.

"Wait, guys? You were using clones to scare Ryan? For how long? More importantly, how many clones did you use?" Gina crossed her arms under her bust and gave Naruto a expectant look. Naruto chuckled nervously and was about to bolt when suddenly a bright light appeared above everyone and they all heard,

"HIYAAAAA!" As Naruto, Gina and Brianna were surprised enough to not move a muscle, Brittany knew it was up to her. Crouching down, Brittany opened a floor locker up that just happened to be right below the falling girl. Suddenly her yell switched to, "AHHHHHHH!" as she fell through the floor. Brittany grinned and slammed the locker door shut, standing as she wiped her hands of imaginary dust.

"Wow, I never though those things would be so handy!" Brittany grinned at the stupefied expressions of her housemates and giggled. An another person dropped from the vortex in the ceiling, nearly falling on her face but Naruto was there to hold her up, wanting to get some answers before someone decided to through this uninvited visitor in a locker as well. The woman smiled gratefully at Naruto before she pulled out a small handheld device. "Thank you for the help young man. I apologize for the intrusion, as well as my... enthusiastic assistant. My name is Mita Celande and my assistant's name is May, we have come here on a very important mission, we must shut down your warp field generator Gina Diggers, the fate of the Universe is at stake!"

Gina looked at the put her hands on her hips, an exasperated look on her face. "Really? And just where did this information come from? Because I can assure you that my warp field generator is completely safe."

Mita pushed a button on the device in her hand and a holographic image appeared, showing the Diggers team a sight they were well acquainted with, the Chronoverse. "I can use the systems of my time craft to show you the problem. As you can see there is a massive time warp that has formed in the Chronoverse, it's origin point has been traced to this laboratory by a new associate of mine. We need to shut it down before it is too late!"

Just as Mita mentioned her associate, the image showed another craft slowly approaching the time warp. Gina sighed and slapped a hand over her face. "Oh God, not him again! That damn mutt! Is that the associate you mentioned? Cause I seriously doubt he's trying to save the universe, I mean his buddy is pointing a pretty big gun at that time warp!"

Mita paled as she watched events unfold in front of her, Benji had risen up from his seat and was aiming a very large gun at the disturbance, just as Gina had said. "But.. but that's some kind of a disruptor! I don't understand why he use something like that, a blast from that would disrupt the time stream! May and I would be stranded here!"

Benji smiled widely and fired the weapon, one bright flash of energy later the signal cut off. Mita dropped her hand to her side and shook her head slowly. "I.. I don't understand, why did he do that?"

"Why? Because the mutt wants to cut me off from my own limited method of traversing time! He's using you to do his dirty work!" Gina walked over to her terminal and pulled up the systems she had to monitor the warp field device. "Brit, I think you may want to let our guest out of the locker, we've got bigger fish to fry at this point!"

Brittany knelt down, opened the locker and looked inside. "Ummm... we've got a problem. I think she decided to make her own way out."

Everyone leaned over and looked inside the locker and saw that someone had punched their way through the metal plating to the lower floors. Gina paled as she looked at Mita's surprised face. "We have to stop her! Otherwise none of us will be able to prevent the mutt from altering time as we know it!"

Just as Gina turned to look at her sisters and Naruto, Gina notice both Brittany and Naruto were missing. A loud slam as the locker door closed and the sound of running feet clued them all into where the two had disappeared. Brianna was deploying her armor and pointed at the two scientists. "You two see if you can figure out what we can do to stop him, the three of us will stop May!"

* * *

May strode forward, her mission clear as she neared Lab 1, the location that Dr Peachbody had given her. Just as she was about to reach the entrance to the lab she was blocked by the same person that had tried to trap her in the locker earlier. "YOU AGAIN!"

"That's far enough little girl! You have no idea what you're doing!" Brittany stood tall as she stared down the girl in front of her, knowing that she could take her in a fair fight. Although the grenade that was thrown at her made Brittany rethink her position that the fight would be fair. May covered her face as the grenade exploded and when she looked up she saw that the obstacle before her was now gone. Quickly entering the lab, May saw her target in front of her. Rearing her hand back May was about to destroy it when a hand grabbed her wrist and stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Now now, let's talk about this, it's all been a big misunderstanding... WHOA!" Naruto dodged to his left as May used her free hand to pull out a beam saber, ignited it and took a quick slash at our favorite shinobi. With her other hand free, May pulled out a second saber and squared off against her newest obstacle. When May looked at the man before her she nearly face faulted at the amazed expression on his face.

"OH WOW! I WANT THOSE!" May growled out and dashed forward when she heard this, ready to attack the amazed man in front of her. As she neared her newest target May noticed something was off... her sabers, they felt different! Stopping in shock May looked at her hands and she was holding two metal tubes that were roughly the same size and weight of her sabers but they were absolutely worthless in a fight to her! May growled as she looked behind her and her jaw dropped, as two identical copies of the man that she had been ready to attack gave her foxy grins as they held her sabers in their hands!

"Triplets?! What the heck is going on here?" May was about to launch herself at the pair of men that stole her weapons when she felt a cold metal muzzle placed against the back of her head and heard the whine of a very powerful gun warming up.

"Please don't attack my boyfriend... He'd most likely find some way to not only completely defeat you but also destroy the lab at the same time."

All three Naruto's looked up in anger and yelled, "HEY!" causing Brianna to grin at her boyfriend.'s clones Said clones grumbled as they tossed the deactivated sabers to the original. Naruto deftly grabbed both hilts from the air and pocketed them both then folded his arms over his chest. Brianna backed away from May since she wasn't moving but kept her in her sights and Brittany finally reappeared, cutting off any possible chance of escape.

* * *

'This isn't good, I'm outnumbered and that BASTARD stole my sabers! I'm gonna kill him when I get my hands on him!' But before May could move another portal opened up and Dr. Peachbody appeared.

"MAY! We have to get out of here, they've captured Mita! I couldn't save her but I can still get you out!" To everyone else outside of the temporal event they saw the canine scientist appear for a brief instant then both he and May vanished.

* * *

Naruto tsk'ed loudly, berating himself for not being ready to pounce on the mutt when he showed his face. Reaching into his pockets though his look of annoyance changed to a look of glee. 'Sweet! New weapons to cause havoc... I mean, to learn how to use responsibly!' Turning back to the girls Naruto gestured back to the control room where they had left Mita and Gina.

"I've got a bad feeling about this. Both of you go and see what Gina and our guest are up to, I'll be watching from the shadows, just in case Time Mutt tries anything else. I'm not letting him catch me off guard again. Damned time travelers..." With a quick hand sign Naruto vanished from sight and the girls looked at each other, both wearing a concerned expression.

Brittany was the first to break the silence with the question both girls wanted answered. "Was it just me or did Naruto look really mad? I've never seen him like that before."

* * *

Gina was pulling in every reading that she could using her warp field platform so the two scientists could try and make heads or tails of the situation.

"Have we gotten those readings from Chronospace yet, Gina?" Gina nodded as she put the information on the monitor. Mita narrowed her eyes as she read through the information, worry bubbling up in her stomach at what was displayed. "Oh no, I recognize that pattern! It's from the time craft that I use, the engines have been activated!"

Gina hmm'ed softly as her sisters returned, both of them with concerned looks on their faces. Brianna sighed as she shouldered her cannon, looking at the two woman in front of her. "Sorry but she got away. Time Mutt warped in and took May before we had a chance to explain what was going on."

Gina pulled up images on her monitor, trying to get a good visual of the area. "Do you think May is taking off with your ride?"

Mita narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "No, May wouldn't leave me behind if she thought I was in danger. I have a feeling that Peachbody convinced her to give him access to the control systems. I'm convinced this whole fiasco was to get access to my time ship."

Gina and Mita rapidly began scanning the residual energy patterns in the complex, baffled at the fact that Peachbody had somehow managed to travel here from the Chronoverse. "It just doesn't make sense! I thought that the mutt cut us off with the disruption!" Gina was still pulling information from her warp platform when a sound of surprise left her lips. "Huh, that's weird. Mita, the time warp you were worried about? It's starting to shrink on it's own. And it looks like... yeah, there's something floating near it, I'll zoom in."

Everyone looked at the monitor as a fuzzy image of May was displayed, her body floating in the void of Chronospace the time warp was located. Mita gasped at the image and said, "We have to get to her, she could be hurt!"

"Well, if it's a rescue party then we're the ones for the job!" Both Brianna and Brittany grinned as they stepped back from the two women. Gina looked around the lab with a surprised look as Brianna and Brittany got ready for the rescue.

"Wait, where's Naruto?" Brianna raised her finger to her lips and pointed above. Looking up all Gina could see were shadows and she instantly understood her sister's silent message.

After the rescue crew ported out Mita leaned closer to Gina. "You mean that blonde haired man from before, right? So where exactly did he go?"

Gina looked over at her current partner and smirked as she softly said. "Oh he's doing what he does best. Trust me, you'll see why if we have any other 'problems'."

"Oh, I can't believe my plan fooled you both so easily. Ladies,you make this so easy!" Gina and Mita both slowly looked up at the hovering time craft above their heads. Peachbody was leaning over the edge, a malicious grin on his face as he continued with his rant.

"I assumed that you would have sent either Brittany or Brianna, but to send both? And your young mystery man is nowhere to be found, too bad for the two of you!" Peachbody fell back into the time craft, closed his eyes and laughed evilly, his victory at hand. Peachbody's laughter cut off just as quickly when he felt the time craft wobble slightly, causing the canine to open his eyes and stare in shock at the new arrival. Peachbody felt his hackles rise as his gaze was met by the very angry glare of a crouching Naruto.

"Well well, look what I have here. My name is Uzumaki Naruto, you tried to kill my girlfriends... prepare to die."

* * *

Ryan sighed as he continued to ring the doorbell, knowing that Gina was home today. Over the last month Naruto had been keeping up a constant series of... events, to keep Ryan 'on his toes' as he put it. Finally the blonde haired man had delivered an ultimatum. "I'll stop harassing you if Gina will forgive you. So I suggest you work on your begging."

The door finally opened and Ryan was surprised to see a soaked Genn open the door with a towel around his waist. "Genn? Where's Gina?"

"That's what I would like to know! I was in the middle of a shower when I heard the doorbell, I thought someone would have answered it by now!" Walking back inside Ryan went to a wall terminal, finding that his guest account was still active he linked into the security cameras to see what was happening in the lab.

Moments later Ryan began tapping swiftly on the keypad and cursed softly. Looking beside him, Ryan grabbed Genn's shoulder and pulled him down the hall with him. "Do you have full access to the home security system? We need to get some weapons from the armory and I'm locked out."

Genn nodded in confusion as the pair entered the elevator, wondering what they were walking into.

Breakthrough

Naruto slowly rose to his feet, his anger so intense that his chakra began to form an aura around his body. Peachbody skittered back from the frightening foe and yelled for help. "Benji, ATTACK!"

Benji immediately leapt into motion, bringing down his massive hand to crush the smaller man before him. Naruto slid in closer to Benji, getting inside of his guard and pushed Benji's strike to the side. Naruto's arm then flashed upwards, an uppercut rocking Benji backwards. Just as Naruto was about to follow through with another strike he saw Peachbody jump on the side of the time craft and drop several sphere's from his mouth. Naruto rushed to the edge of the craft and growled as he saw the spheres transform into multiple monsters, monsters that immediately started to tear apart Gina's lab.

* * *

"NO! MY LAB!" Gina fell to her knees as she watched her years of hard work, her irreplaceable inventions and discoveries meet their untimely demise.

Gina watched Naruto leap from the time craft and charge into the rampaging monsters, doing his best to not damage any equipment as he desperately thought of a way to destroy them, but it was a hopeless effort. Each hit that he dodged a piece of equipment met it's fate and Naruto was purposely tryingnot to wreck the lab with his techniques, limiting what he could do.

When the battle was fully underway Peachbody and his attack boy disappeared from sight, causing Naruto to growl. 'Dammit! They got away again!" Turning his attention back to the creatures in font of him Naruto created a few clones to distract them while he went over his options. 'This is not good, if I use too much power I'll destroy them but the lab will be smashed, too little and they could kill everyone!' His decision made, Naruto looked behind him and gave an apologetic look to his girlfriend. "Sorry Kirei, I'll make it up to you later!"

Naruto turned back towards the fight and just as he was about to tear into the monsters he felt a blast of plasma race by him and impact one of the creatures, knocking it off balance. Looking over his shoulder Naruto was shocked to see Ryan holding a smoking blaster and hiding behind Gina and Mita was Genn in... a towel?

Ryan smirked as he raised the blaster again and aimed it at the cluster of rampaging monsters. "Hey, need a hand?"

Naruto grinned as he slid back, looking at the unexpected help. "Well, I guess I can accept it, just don't think I'm going to go soft on you, that's still in Gina's hands to decide." Naruto grinned as he pulled his newly acquired beam sabers out and activated them. 'Heh, never thought that those sword lessons from Kakashi-sensei and Ero-Sennin would come in handy!'

Both fighters were ready to leap into the fray when several hurtbot's suddenly appeared, kneeling before Gina. "User-1: Gina, Hurtbot's 1, 2, 3 and 6 reporting. A disturbance was detected in the main labs, are you alright?"

Gina's helpless look immediately turned incredulous. "But I took you all offline for scheduled OS maintenance! I was supposed to take all day!"

Hurtbot 1 rose to it's feet and walked towards his creator as he responded to the comment she made. "Affirmative, but we detected the alarm and immediately brought ourselves back online. Maintenance subroutines have only completed 13% of the assigned task. Your orders?"

Gina's incredulous look immediately turned to anger as she gave her orders. "Job-1, Priority-1! Protect me, Ryan Tabbot, the female next to me and the neutral behind me. Job-2, Priority-2! Help Naruto kick some monster ass! They trashed my lab and they were enjoying it! Make them hurt!"

Naruto looked over his shoulder at Ryan and grinned. "Well, looks like you get a break today kid, protect the girls while I go kick some ass and I'll lay off you, deal?"

Ryan nodded and slowly backed away from the monsters as Naruto and the hurt bots leaped back into the fray.

Meanwhile in the Chronoverse

Gina's Time car was racing towards the last location that they had detected May. After a small detour that is. "Brianna, do you really think it was a good idea to go and get takeout before we got here? And where are all the bubbles that we normally see here?"

Brianna nodded as she took a drink then responded. "Hey, I was hungry! And according to Naruto, you can't rescue someone on an empty stomach! As for the bubbles, there are none here, this section of the Chronoverse is for the near and far future."

Brittany nodded slowly as she ate her tuna filet. As both girls drew closer they had no idea that they were walking into a royal mess, all because May... well, May isn't the sharpest crayon in the box.

'It was their device that caused this problem! I may have not been able to stop Peachbody from taking Mita's time craft, but I can take yours and rescue Mita! She'll know what to do to fix this whole mess!'

Brianna stopped the car right in in front of the apparently unconscious girl and popped the canopy of the car. Just as Brianna was about to climb out and grab their quarry, May grabbed the bumper of the car and violently twisted her arms, sending both Diggers flying out. "HAH! Did you really think I would be captured so easily! I won't be tricked again, not like I was by your friend Peachbody! And thanks for not wearing seat belts!"

As Brianna and Brittany were recovering from the violent actions of their rescuee, May was firing up the Time car to make a quick stop. 'Next stop, Quagmire. I'm not taking any chances this time, I'm gonna get some backup!'

* * *

Ryan watched in awe as Naruto was fighting against the horde of monsters. Every time a creature took a swing at him the fighter would shift subtlety, his body just moving enough to not get hit. Not a single movement was wasted and the moment he saw an opening he viciously capitalized on it, wielding his newly acquired weapons as if he had been using them for years. 'And I tried to get him to fight me? Oh hell I am so glad he hasn't decided to try and kick my ass since the beach. That's it, whatever he tells me to do I'll do it, it's not worth it to piss him off!'

Naruto leapt over a massive fist, landed on the creatures shoulder, slicing it's head off with his new weaponry. Flipping off of the dead creature Naruto grasped his sabers tightly as he analyzed the situation. 'Ok, six down and only one left. It should be an easy... OH you have got to be kidding me!'

Naruto jumped to the side as he dodged the remains of a hurt bot that had been attacking the last monster. The two remaining hurt bots began firing but the last monster walked forward, not even bothered by the hail of weapons fire as armor plating began to form in response to the weapons fire. A massive fist rocketed forward and crush another hurtbot's head and Naruto knew that this was not going to be an easy fight. Looking behind him Naruto saw the way to the exit was finally clear. "Gina, Hurtbot 1, get everyone out! I'll take the last one out but I'll need you all out of the way, I don't want you caught in the middle of this!"

Gina looked at the destroyed husk of a lab, realizing it was a lost cause and no longer worried about any further damage. Gina nodded quickly as everyone ran for the exit as the remaining hurt bot covered their escape. Naruto grinned savagely, stowed his sabers and formed a cross with his hands. Two clones popped into existence and ran towards their foe, keeping him busy. Naruto closed his eyes and moments later they snapped open again, the familiar orange highlights and toad eyes showing his mastery of Sennin modo.

Naruto created two more clones and they immediately helped him gather, form and enhance his chakra, completing one of his deadliest techniques. Both clones on distraction duty immediately began making a series of hand signs and disappeared below the floor. The creature bellowed furiously and tried to run towards Naruto but when it failed to move an inch the creature looked down and noticed that two pairs of hands were reaching out of the floor and holding it in place.

"Heh, another use of the screwed up Fuin that made me disappear! Ninpo: Dankai-tekina gurando - kuratchi !(Ninja Art: Phased Ground - Clutch!)" Naruto reared his arm back and let the Rasenshuriken he had been holding fly. The creature tried to move but it was too late, the projectile hit and the room went white.

Meanwhile, outside of the lab

Ryan was clutching the blaster he had acquired and looked back at Gina. "Hey, was it really a good idea to leave your boyfriend in there with a monster hellbent on killing us all?" Gina looked at Ryan and began giggling loudly, which of course made everyone look at her as if she had gone insane.

"Ryan, you have no idea what he can do. I'm more afraid for the monster than I am Naruto." Moments after Gina said this a massive explosion threw everyone to the ground. Gina felt her guts twist in anguish before realizing it had already been too late to save her lab. 'Well... at least he took out the bastards that destroyed it.'

Moments later the lab door fell to the floor with a clang and Naruto walked out, wiping dust from his clothes as he looked at Gina. "Sorry Kirei, the lab was already trashed and it was the easiest way to stop it."

Just as Gina was about to respond, other time portal opened up. "Look, it's Brianna and Brittany!" Gina's eyes widened as the car careened towards her, realizing that something had to be wrong. But before she could be hit a pair of warm, strong and very familiar arms whisked Gina away from the danger. Both Gina and Naruto watched as the car crashed into the ground and two people who were definitely not Brianna or Brittany jumped out, pulling out several weapons and training them on everyone. Naruto groaned as May appeared, realizing that she had done something stupid... AGAIN.

Naruto put Gina down and walked towards the recent arrivals slowly. Raising his hands up he made his cross hand sign once again and a cloud of smoke obscured him from sight. Before anyone could move all of the new arrivals had several clones surrounding each of them each holding a pair of kunai and angry glares on their faces. "Now, before we all try and kill each other, I have something to say. I'm tired. I'm hungry. I've been tricked twice today and my girlfriend almost got killed, AGAIN. This time by her own car that you apparently stole from her sisters. Now, unless you all want to suffer agonizing defeat and possible death since I'm in a REALLY BAD MOOD, lower your weapons and we'll talk this over. DEAL?" As Naruto finished his tirade the eyes of all of his clones slowly shifted to red as he subconsciously tapped some of Kurama's chakra he had hoarded away.

May and her backup, a massive man carrying an assault rifle and a blonde haired girl decked out in power armor each looked at each other, the clones that were glaring at them all and lowered their weapons. Naruto smirked and thought, 'HAH! And Baa-chan said my 'Aggressive Negotiations' would never work!'

"Good choice! Now, what the hell did you do with Cheets and Brianna!" Everyone looked at May, the young woman gulping nervously as one thought went through her head.

'Ah crap. This is not going the way I planned it!'

Meanwhile, in the Chronoverse

"So, Brianna... how was it the first time with Naruto?" Brittany smirked at the look of extreme satisfaction on Brianna's face.

"Three words for you sis... Clones and Stamina. I'll let your imagination fill in the details."

Back in the lab

Naruto sighed after he listened to May's explanation of how she got the time machine. "So, let me get this straight. You went and turned on your rescuers, got your friends Arnie and Asrial here and decided to come back here and rescue Mita, who we had 'captured'. Does that sound about right?"

"Yeah! Now hand her over you bastard!" Naruto sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose in irritation.

'Kakashi-sensei...was I really this bad when I was younger? From the bottom of my heart I'm sorry that I was such as pain in the ass.' Naruto looked over at Mita and motioned to her very confused assistant.

"Here, you deal with this, I got more important things to worry about like rescuing the girls." As Mita explained the situation to the new arrivals, Naruto made his way towards Gina who was trying to see if anything had survived the synthoid rampage.

"Any luck Kirei?" At her worried glance Naruto sighed, already knowing the answer. Moments later another time portal opened, causing Gina to groan.

"What the heck is this, the new cosmic Grand Central Station? How many more uninvited guests are going to drop in?"

In another era...

Peachbody grinned evilly as he entered the final calculations into the systems of his stolen time craft. "Excellent, with this time craft at my disposal and all my enemies in one spot the end game is finally approaching. Add in the power of this alien artifact and I will control all of time!"

Said alien artifact was actually the Sphinx, an apparent power amplifier left on earth for some unknown purpose. With a touch of a single control Peachbody began his plan to scatter his enemies through time.

Back in the present

Three limp bodies fell through the portal at Mita's feet, causing her to yell in shock. "Professor ! Ichi-kun, Akaru! What happened?"

Azland slowly stood and shook his head to clear it and focused on the woman in front of him. "Mita? Oh no... Mita! You all have to get away, Peachbody is going to..."

But it was too late as a final time vortex opened, much larger than any of the others, pulling everyone in different directions and flinging them through time.

End part 1


	9. Chapter 9

To anyone that has read the comics for this arc, I'm sorry but I'm cutting out the part with Count Bosco. Mostly because of how well Naruto handles the situation in this chapter it makes the inclusion of that issue unnecessary.

Also, in response to a review and several messages I need to clarify a few things. Brittany is a big no in the Harem for several reasons. First and for most she is so similar to Naruto they are more like siblings and best buds than romantically compatible. Second she's completely devoted to Stripe to an almost scary degree. And third... her family with Stripe is important to future arcs and things that occur in the story. So sorry guys, no Brit. That being said yes, there will be additions, still no idea how many but I agree with kd8gun's message, massive harems are funny but not only overdone they can get downright confusing or annoying at times. So there won't be many more, max will probably be 4 in total for the harem size.

Next, the review from 64, I appreciate the review and also the criticism, I need both to know how I am doing. One thing I need to point out... This isn't exactly canon Naruto. After all it's been several years since the current war in the manga has ended so he's not exactly the same as he was back then. Also, if you tell a scientist that your holding a massive being of malevolent energy in your body then their gonna want to know what it's like, experiences etc. after all one of the most important things for a scientist to have is curiosity. Also, it was a way to forge a bond between Naruto and these new friends that have become his precious people, a way of showing trust by telling him his story, both the good and the bad. He could have glossed over it but if they found out later then they would have wondered why he didn't tell them before. And finally... he had been spying on them for several months, it was a way to even the playing field in a way. At least that's how I see it, you can see it a different way if you want as you are entitled to your opinion. Also... thanks for calling it a cool story, :P

As always, please leave a review. It's the only way to let me know how well I'm doing or how much my work sucks. Just like a chef wants comments from his diners, I need comments from my readers to know how well received these chapters are. And to all those that have reviewed the previous chapters, thanks a heap!

Chapter 9

Dr. Peachbody sighed in contentment as he loyal attack boy was giving him a massage, after all the work he had just put in throwing his enemies across the time stream he felt the moment of relaxation was worth it. "Ah Benji, finally we can be assured of our victory over the human regime! Canines will rule the Earth and no one is left to oppose us!"

"Dr. Peachbody, where did you end up sending everyone?" Peachbody grinned evilly as he rose form his comfortable couch and walked back into the Sphinx to show Benji just what was occurring.

"Observe, my faithful attack boy! Gina, Mita and Akaru have been thrown back to Feudal Japan, a time where outsiders were shunned and regularly killed! Professor Azland, May, Ichi and Genn are trapped in the Era of the Dragon Pharaoh. And as for Asrial, Ryan, Arnold and Naruto, I have transported them back into the end of the Era of Magic, a very dangerous place in the time stream as the world was about to begin the age of man! Each time line has boundless dangers and opportunities to kill them all, they will never return to their homes! But... I can't help but think I have forgotten about something... "

Meanwhile, in the Chronoverse

Brittany sighed as the unchanging view of the Chronoverse was beginning to bore her. Leaning back, Brit began to rub her chin with her fingers as she saw a potential problem. "Hey, Brianna? Remember that time warp anomaly that Mita was trying to get rid of?"

"Sure do Brittany, why do you ask?" Brianna was laying back with her eyes closed as she answered her sister, trying to stay calm the longer they stayed in this messed up dimension.

"Well I was wondering how dangerous it was... since we seem to be falling towards into what looks like another time warp." Brianna slowly nodded her head then froze as Brittany's words registered with her. Opening her eyes and turning around, Brianna screamed as both girls were pulled into the new time warp before them.

Moments later both women landed on the hard ground, finally having been returned to Earth. Brittany stood and looked around, hoping to see something that she recognized when a loud explosion caught the attention of both women. As two massive ships were battling above their heads, Brittany squinted her eyes and looked at both of them closely. "Hey Brianna? Doesn't that ship closest to use look familiar? It's almost like there are buildings on top of it!"

Brianna looked up and her eyes widened in shock. "Oh wow, it's a pair of city ships! Brittany, I think that's El Dorado and Atlantis before they landed on Earth!"

As both ships continued their battle Brianna only had one thought. 'I hope where ever you are Naruto you're safe... otherwise that mutt won't live to see another day after I find him!'

* * *

Naruto slowly opened his eyes as he heard wind howling around him. "Ugh... I am so gonna kill that MUTT! No more chances, he's pissed me off enough. I'm so pissed of right about now..." Slowly rising to his feet Naruto squinted as he looked at the desolate field he had landed on. No sign of any vegetation as far as the eye could see, only dust, dirt and stone stood in front of him. Hearing several people groaning beside him Naruto looked over and sighed. 'So, we got the power armored girl with cat ears, a man that could fit in perfectly in the Vietnam war and... Tabbot. Dammit, what did I do to deserve him? Actually with all the shit I've given him over the last month, this is probably Karma kicking me in the ass.'

A large number of chakra signatures were approaching from the rear so Naruto went and helped his current comrades to their feet, wanting to make sure they were ready to run, just in case. Turning around Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and adopted a no nonsense look. Shortly a large group of men arrived, two riders breaking off from the main group and approaching the currently stranded quartet.

'Lets see.. big tough guy, massive sword, better armor than the others... probably a general, maybe a king? And his companion... hello, that's a woman... some kind of magic caster maybe? Something about the energy flowing around her is strange... either way, there's not enough of them to cause me any problems.' Naruto plastered a confident smirk on his face as the two outriders finally reached his group.

"By Crom's beard, what sorcery is this! The very heavens opened up and deposited these mages nearly at our very feet! Sorceress, your words had me believe that most with magic had vanished from the Earth! Yet here we see that be far from the case!" Naruto nearly laughed as he listened to the 'important' man carry on until his companion finally responded to his words.

"My Lord, I do not believe these people to be Wizards. In truth I am sure they are the prophesied ones...the very ones that can help us with the Deadians!" Naruto cocked an eyebrow as the sorceress finished her piece.

"Deadians? What the heck is a Deadian?" The woman pointed behind Naruto and he looked back, seeing an army that had appeared while he had been distracted by the new arrivals. What was very strange was the complete lack of chakra from the approaching army, everything had at least a spark of chakra to allow the body to live, but these creatures... they were without chakra, meaning... Naruto immediately whipped his head back towards the sorceress with a wide eyes look. "The undead? We have to fight the undead?!"

"Yes, the undead have invaded our neighbors and now encroach on our lands! Their leader, Natasha the Vampire Queen will see the entire world fall under her control! But we... sir? Is everything alright?"

Arnie, Asrial and Ryan all looked at Naruto, looks of confusion on their faces at how he was acting. He looked like he was trembling, as if his very body had been thrown into a vat of ice water. Asrial put her hand on Naruto's shoulder, wondering if the idea of fighting undead was too much for the man and was about to offer some words of comfort when Naruto began to softly chuckle. Moments later it became a giggle until finally it ended up being a full blown belly laugh.

"HAH! OH YEAH! SOMEONE I CAN GO FULL BLAST AGAINST! YOSHA! I'm going ahead, to soften'em up for ya!" Naruto immediately pivoted and ran full tilt towards the advancing army of undead, a maniacal grin plastered on his face. A sigh was head and the three time travelers looked towards the sorceress who was shaking her head sadly.

"Alas, your friend is a fool, he will be captured and become nothing more than cattle for the vampire, another soul cursed to fight against the living..." Just as the sorceress was saying this a massive explosion of smoke obscured the field in front of them and a faint voice could be heard.

"TAJU KAGE BUSIN NO JUTSU!" A massive cloud of smoke appeared, obscuring Naruto and stopping the undead army in it's tracks. Moments later a small regiment of Naruto clones burst out of the smoke cover and crashed into the advancing undead, leaving the sorceress completely speechless.

One minute before Naruto reached the undead.

General Femur grinned broadly, his army was close to completing the subjugation of this realm, just like all before it that tried to stand against the might of the Deadians. Looking out at the paltry number of remaining humans that opposed them, the General began to laugh... until he saw a lone man running towards the army of undead. 'Heh, they've given up hope I see, even the peasants are running to become part of the horde when they know they can no longer run.' Femur watched as the man neared the front lines and cocked his head to the side when he slid to a stop.

Naruto's maniacal grin was still present as he brought his hands up. "TAJU KAGE BUSIN NO JUTSU!" All of the skeletons stopped as a massive cloud of smoke rolled along their path. Moments later multiple identical copies of the man shot out of the cloud, crashing into the front lines and began to decimate the soldiers there with nothing more than hand ti hand techniques. "AHAHAHAHAHA! TAKE THIS UNDEAD HORDE!"

Femur took a step back as his troops tried to engage the identical men that suddenly appeared, but they were being overwhelmed by his power and fury. Just as the General was thinking of calling for a retreat a powerful presence appeared behind him. Turning slowly the General immediately fell to a knee in respect to his ruler, Queen Natasha. "Your majesty! It seems we have encountered a problem! He fights with the strength of a dozen men and there or thousands of him! I beg for your help in subduing this... this madman!"

Natasha turned her bored gaze at the man that was making short work of her forward troops. As she watched his movements her bored look slowly changed to intrigue. "Hmmmm, yes, I can see how he would cause you concern General.. Worry not, I shall give you all the power needed to subdue him." Natasha slowly rose in the air, ethereal energy writhing around her as she focused on casting a enhancement spell to give her horde the power they needed to stand against this madman. As her incantation ended her remaining troops surged forward, intent on capturing the powerful human that dared to attack them. Just as they reached the line of clones Natasha was confused by the smirk she saw on all of their faces.

"HAH! Nice to see that wasn't all you could do! Now it's time for me to really get started! FUTON: ATSUGI!" Several clones immediately performed the same wind storm that had nearly destroyed the subbasement in the Diggers home, with similar results or carnage ripping into the forward ranks of undead troops.

Natasha tapped her fingers delicately on her chin then turned to her General one more time. "General... I want him alive. He could be useful to us after I have turned him."

* * *

Asrial watched in awe as the man they had thought was a lost cause ripped into the advancing undead, destroying them with nothing more than hand to hand techniques. After they appeared to have received a power-up from their leader everyone thought that Naruto would fall back but he stayed in the thick of the fight, not giving an inch to the horde of undead. When massive explosions and blasts of wind started to throw skeletons left and right Asrial had a single thought in her head.

'The man is a juggernaut! Even I, a Salusian princess of imperial birth would have been overrun by now!' A sudden pressure against Asrial's leg caused the alien girl to look down and she nearly squealed at the sigh before her. A small fox kit was rubbing against her leg, seemingly begging for attention. As Asrial stepped back in surprise the kit looked up at her pitifully and Asrial, though an alien girl, was not immune to the level of cuteness that it exuded. Bending down she picked up the fox kit and held it in her arms as she watched Naruto begin to falter. "Oh no, we have to help him!" But just as the words left her mouth it was already too late, Nartuo's clones were quickly destroyed and the horde fell upon the real one, quickly pinning him down and binding him

No one noticed the fox kit grin in a very human manner as he watched the fight reach it's conclusion. 'It's all going according to plan...'

* * *

Natasha smirked as she watched the powerful warrior that had assaulted her horde finally brought down and deposited at her feet. Leaning forward with a grin, Natasha put her finger under his chin and tilted his head up so she could stare into his eyes. Natasha laughed loudly as the man tried to lunge at her but the undead holding him in place managed to bring him back under control quickly, pushing his bruised face forcefully to the ground. 'Hmm, very nice, I think he will do nicely as part of the undead... not to mention he's very easy on the eyes...'

Turning from the sight before her Natasha signaled that her troops fall back. "We have a great prize that has fallen into our hands! Quickly, fall back so that we may turn him and finally conquer this pathetic land with his enormous power!"

* * *

Ryan watched in fear as Naruto was dragged away into a portal that closed as soon as the final Deadian crossed over. "Aw dammit, now I have to explain to Gina how her boyfriend went and got himself kidnapped and killed by undead! She's gonna kill me!"

Arnie on the other hand was rubbing his chin in contemplation, having noticed that Naruto had seemingly given up once the undead had gotten a power up, making it all seem too easy for the large man to believe that it had happened. 'I wonder...'

In another time period

Gina, Akaru and Mita had both managed to escape Edo by the skin of their teeth and were currently trying to stay afloat, having fallen into an ocean in the new time line they had stumbled into. They didn't know when or where they were but Mita was positive her equipment would have picked up her distress beacon while they were in transit to this new period in time, giving them a chance to return home and find their friends. Just as Gina was about to relax a a little a sudden feeling of anger, annoyance and jealousy washed over her, making her look to the south. 'My girlfriend senses are tingling... either that's someone flirting with Naruto or he's done something insane again... Jinkies, knowing him, it's probably both! I gotta find him, fast!'

With Brittany and Brianna

Brianna was awestruck at the battle occurring before her as both city ships tore into each other, neither being able to do more than keep attacking as they were an even match for each other. A sudden feeling of mischievousness pulled Brianna's attention away from the battle as she turned towards the north, giggling softly. 'Oh, I have a feeling Naruto is going to royally screw with some people's minds, go get'em Stud!'

Back in the Age of Magic

Naruto kept his grin off his face as he was placed in a stock and forced to march towards the looming fortress before him. Multiple skeletons were prodding the column forward to their ultimate demise... or so they thought. 'Heh, none of them know the first thing about how to treat dangerous prisoners... well, that makes my life a lot easier.' Naruto tested the strength of his bonds and had to stop himself from laughing, a quick flex of his chakra enhanced strength and he would be free. Of course that wasn't what was going to happen, Naruto had other ideas on how to handle the situation. All of the Deadians were so focused on the making sure the prisoners continued to move they never saw a kunai appear in Naruto's hand. Just as quickly he flipped the weapon over the edge of the bridge as the column of prisoners were just about to enter the castle. As the kunai fell towards the bottom of the moat a cloud of smoke appeared and the real Naruto appeared, grabbing onto the wall nearest to him and slowing his fall with his chakra. "Infiltration, successful. Now, on to the next phase of OPERATION: MINDSCREW..."

* * *

After Naruto had been 'captured' our three remaining time swept travelers were escorted back to Castle Raimilot where they were going to be told exactly what kind of mess they had fallen into. As the Lord of the castle led his guests deeper into the fortress, Arnie and Ryan finally noticed that Asrial had a stowaway. Arnie stepped forward and gently scratched the kit's head as he looked at Asrial. "And where did you get this little guy?"

"I found him on that terrible battlefield, I couldn't just leave him there! He looked so hungry and lonely..." The kit nipped playfully at Asrial's fingers then with surprising ease climbed up on her shoulder and yipped. Asrial and Ryan both laughed at the spectacle, but Arnie...Arnie had a feeling that something else was going on, he just was missing the final clue to tie it all together.

The small group finally reached the inner chambers of the 'witch' of the castle. As they stepped inside they were greeted by... "Mimi? Is that you? What the heck are you doing here!" Asrial pointed an accusing finger at the woman in the chamber who quickly shook her head.

"No, my name is Lili Masters, Witch of the Coven, and I desperately ask for your aid in stopping the Deadians from overrunning us all! I believe you are all part of a prophesy that was revealed to me through my cauldron! I need your help to find a spell book located in Natasha's fortress, it holds the key to ending this war!" Asrial looked at the woman with a deadpan expression as she sniffed the air.

"Well if it was your cauldron that revealed it to you, I'm not surprised, you probably got high off of those fumes pouring out of the thing!" Lili glared at the Imperial Princess but before she could say a word a group of Deadians jumped from the cauldron in question and raced towards their targets.

"WOO HOO, fresh meat boys!"

"See what happens when you don't clean your cauldron Lili! HAHAHAHAHAH!"

"Boogah Boogah!" Everyone stopped and looked at the Deadian that had spoken last, even his fellow undead. After a moment he shrugged his bony shoulders and sighed. "It sounded scarier in my head..." All of the Deadians looked at each other, then looked at the humans in front of them and pounced again.

Moments later the fight was over as the Deadians dragged their unwilling captives back into the cauldron. The last two to enter saw the fox kit and looked at each other. "Should we grab that thing too?" The other Deadian shrugged and picked up the kit.

"May as well, we can use something that moves for target practice at some point I bet." Both Deadians cackled as they climbed back into the cauldron, never knowing they were walking into their own doom.

* * *

Naruto whistled jauntily as he walked among the lower levels of the undead fortress, placing a demolition tag on every support structure he found. Several skeletons had run across him but were quickly dealt with as he made his final rounds of the fortress. Naruto finally found the last unmarked pillar and applied the final set of tags, satisfied that the castle would be a pile of ruble in a matter of moments after he set these babies off. 'Now if my clone can just keep the group in the throne room busy than we're all set.'

With the Naruto clone in the throne room

Naruto-2 entered the throne room and took stock of everything before him. Multiple skeletons crowded into the room as Natasha stepped down from her throne and made her way to the line of prisoners. "Well, I see you all made it here, excellent. Now, lets see what we can do to entertain you... I know, it's time for the PIT! And as always we'll be entertained by our resident champion, Helga!"

A loud grinding noise was heard as a circular section of the floor split open to reveal the pit. Natasha grinned evilly as she threw multiple prisoners into the pit, each screaming in agony as something in the black depths started to feed on the poor souls that had gone first, if the loud chomping sounds as well as the snapping of bones were any indication. Finally Natasha walked up towards Naruto-2 and slowly ran her finger down his cheek. "And as for you... oh I have something very special planned for you. If you survive that is." With that Natasha hip checked Naruto into the dark pit, smirking as he fell towards his apparent doom.

* * *

The exterior of the undead infested castle was quiet, so quiet that the two sentries on duty weren't really paying attention. While they continued their conversation a hatch just under the main bridge opened up and three people and a small animal landed on a ledge. Ryan looked at the moat they were above and then looked over at their guide. "Lili, just how long have you known about that passageway that we were pulled into?"

"About a month Ryan, I just had no idea where it ended in the castle, it's a classic tactic of the Deadians. I'm so glad you were able to defeat them once they pulled us into that tunnel! Now we need to get inside that castle, Natasha has a book that is allowing her to control her minions. If we can get our hands on it I can stop her, for good!"

Arnie and Asrial leaned out from their hiding spot and saw the pair of guards at the gate. Asrial looked back at Lili with haughty expression. "Well, they weren't that tough for a imperial princess to dispatch... but how will we get inside? If we rush them they'll sound the alarm, if we try and use our weapons then everyone will hear them!"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of them." Everyone let out a sigh of relief at the confident voice then immediately froze, turning to the small animal riding on Asrial's shoulder... that had just spoken to them. The fox kit was wearing a massive grin as he looked at everyone's shocked faces. "What? You really didn't think I'd leave you all alone this entire time did you?"

Ryan slowly raised his arms and extended a finger to the small kit and poked it several times. "Naruto? Is that you?"

Jumping down from his perch, the kit grinned a moment later was enveloped with a cloud of smoke. When it cleared Naruto-3's grinning face greeted everyone and he nodded. "Yep, did you really think I would have gone down so easily? It's all part of my plan, I'll take care of the guards and we can sneak in." Naruto-3 disappeared from sight and everyone left looked at each other in shock.

"You know, I'm not even surprised any more. I dunno if that's a good thing or a bad thing." Ryan sighed and shook his head. Moments later both Deadians were taken care of, their dismembered bodies thrown into the moat below. As the group climbed on top of the bridge Naruto-3 was wiping his hand on his jacket. The shinobi grinned as he raised his hands and with a single hand sign he turned into an exact copy of a Deadian.

"Alright prisoners, march!" Naruto-3's companions grinned as they made their way inside, knowing they now had a perfect way to get that book.

In the pit

Naruto-2 landed in a crouch, wondering what was waiting for him. Deciding that it would be a good idea to let the others know what was going on he sent his current memories to the the real Naruto and the other clone being used for this operation. Moments later a flood of new memories came to Naruto-3, causing the clone to grin. 'Time to give'em a show.'

Moments later a pair of hands grabbed Naruto-2 and lifted him off his feet, throwing him against the wall. Naruto wiped the water from his face and looked up at his opponent with a shit eating grin. "A ghoul! Wow, you really do want to make this easy for me, don't you?"

Helga roared in anger as she tried to slam Naruto-2 into the wall... the operative word was that she tried and failed miserably to even move the clone an inch. 'It's like trying to move a boulder!' Helga hissed loudly as Naruto's hands grasped her wrists and pulled her hands away from him as he chuckled.

"Well, time to give them what they want!" Naruto slammed his forehead into Helga's, stunning her and making her stumble back. Naruto brought up his arms and made a come here motion with his hand. "Here ghoulie, ghoulie, ghoulie!"

Helga roared in anger and launched herself at Naruto, her clawed fingers slashing through the air as Naruto dodged back and forth. As he stepped away from one strike another one came at him almost too fast for him to see and appeared to graze his ribs, making Naruto grunt in surprise. "Heh, not so confident now are ya! Just wait and soon I'll be slicing the rest of ya to rib..." Helga's tirade trailed off as Naruto removed his hand from his newest 'wound'. The ripped shirt should have been covered in blood but all that was shown was unblemished skin.

"I'm sorry, you were going to do what to me? I didn't quite CATCH THAT!" Naruto launched himself forward while Helga was trying to understand how she could have missed and snapped her head to the side with a crescent kick, grabbed the ghoul by her shoulder and shoved her under the water. After leaving her there for a minute Naruto then threw her into the far wall and grinned as Helga tried to clear her head by shaking it slowly. Naruto grinned as he crossed his arms over his chest and smirked at the downed ghoul. "Oh come on, I didn't hit you that hard, you still can stop me, show me some energy here!"

In the library

Lili was quickly rummaging through the books, looking for the one that she needed. 'If I can just find the Necronomicon than this'll all be a bad memory!'

Arnie, Asrial and Naruto were all helping the young witch look through the stacks of books while Ryan kept a lookout for any guards. But in reality it wasn't necessary since all the undead seemed to be clustered together in the far corner of the throne room around some form of entertainment, if their shouts were any indication.

"AH HAH! I have a good feeling about this one!" Naruto held up a book with a heavily warped cover, it almost looked like a face that was suffering unimaginable horrors. Lili grabbed the book and began to read, an optimistic look on her face rapidly changing to a dazzling smile. Looking up Lili jumped at Naruto, giving him a quick kiss on the lips and went back to reading the book.

"Yes, that's it! Now I can teach Natasha a thing or two!" With that Lili tried to walk out of the room despite a protesting Naruto trying to stop her.

"Oi, oi! Your gonna ruin the boss' plan!" Lili didn't hear a word as she exited the library, intent on finally beating Natasha at her own game. Naruto-3 sighed as he raced after the girl, making sure that she hadn't been seen by the undead and then pulled her back into the room. As she struggled Naruto leaned forward and whispered in her ear, causing the girl to relax at the sound of his smooth voice. "Just let the boss get them nice and jumpy, then we'll surprise them with the spell, ok?"

In the present

Gina sighed as she finally was able to get into some dry clothes that Mita had loaned her. Just like the time traveler had said, her equipment did pick up the distress signal and all three of them were able to get out of what they later found out what the Cretaceous period. Each of the recently returned travelers went ahead with what they all considered important business once they had returned. Mita scanned the time stream for their missing friends, Akaru was grabbing a snack and Gina... Gina made a bee line for Mita's room, having lost her shorts during their impromptu swim.

Just as Gina exited Mita's bedroom another flash of jealously reminded her of the problem that she needed to deal with. "Mita, you said something about having a lab here, right? Think I could use it to put together something real quick?" At Mita's distracted nod Gina quickly made her way to the lab, her thoughts going a mile a minute. 'I know Naruto hates cheaters so it's probably some girl throwing themselves at him, the poor man isn't able to fight off their wily charms! Don't worry babe, I'll make them regret ever laying a hand on you!'

Back in the Age of Magic

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, inspecting his work. Every support beam, retaining wall and structural weak point was covered by at least 2 demolition tags, meaning there was no way they wouldn't blow. "It's... it's gonna make a beautiful boom! I can't wait to blow this place up!" A quick series of hand seals and Naruto used one of Jiraiya's creations, Tōton no Jutsu, his body fading from sight as he quickly made his way to the throne room with a simple Shunshin. Naruto was hiding in the rafters, once again in the shadows that he was so used to working in as he took stock of the situation. Looking towards the library he saw an arm put itself between the slightly opened doors and give him a thumbs up. Naruto grinned at the way the clone he left with the others let him know everything was cool and so it was now time for him to mess with Natasha.

* * *

Natasha was licking her lips as she could faintly see the man in the pit holding his own against Helga, he even managed to rip off one of her arms and was in the process of beating her with it. 'Hmm, strong, handsome and extremely violent... he's perfect.' Just as Natasha was about to use her magic to pluck the man out of the Pit and then begin the process to turn him into an undead servant, a smooth sinister laugh echoed across the throne room.

"Hahahaha, so gullible. Did you really think you could ever win Natasha?" Natasha immediately spun around, scanning the throne room for the source of the voice. "I mean, do you seriously think that you beat the man that is fighting in that pit at this very moment?"

Natasha smirked as she continued to scan the room with her eyes. When nothing was revealed she began making use of her magic to locate the source of the mocking words. "Considering that he is in the pit and dueling with Helga, I'd say I did beat him. After all, what other fate is there for a man insane enough to challenge the undead, but to be defeated by a superior foe?"

"Ah, yes, I see why you would think that... Allow me to correct your assumption. His insanity? AN act, meant to fool you and it worked. And the man in the Pit? Well, I'll let his actions speak louder than my words." A moment later an enraged howl rose from the pit and Natasha along with all of her soldiers looked down to see a large cloud of smoke slowly dissipating, but the man that had been beating Helga was now missing.

"Dammit, where did he go!" Helga continued to roar in fury as her opponent had apparently disappeared, causing Natasha to stretch her magical senses to every corner of the throne room, but still she could find nothing.

"Heh, so now you realize just how badly you messed up. You see, you gave me the perfect way to infiltrate this fortress. I could have attacked it myself from the outside, but that would have taken too long, I have a Mutt to neuter. You're just a little side quest for me, something not even worth the effort to finish unless you're in the area." Natasha growled at the mocking tone and lashed out with a blast of magic, targeting the shadows above her, thinking that would be the best spot to hide if the man was able to evade her magic. "Temper temper Natasha, I wouldn't try that again... not that you were even close to hitting me, but you never know what you'll set off."

Natasha had a slightly worried look on her face as the words that were uttered registered with her. "What do you mean... set off? What did you do?!" But all she received as a mocking laugh for an answer, enraging the vampire even further.

* * *

Ryan stopped himself from laughing out loud as Naruto played with the vampire queen, watching the entire scene from the partially open doors of the library. Turning back to the clone they were with he motioned his head to the throne room. "Now?"

Naruto-3 grinned and shook his head. "Nope, wait a little longer. It gets better."

* * *

Natasha was starting to get worried, what had this madman done to her fortress, her army of undead? "Tell me what you have done mortal or I will make your suffering legendary!"

Another mocking laugh was the queen's answer and she growled again, furious at the current turn of events. "Tsk, tsk, tsk... well, I guess I can let you know, after all you can't do anything about it, it's already too late. But before I tell you I will say this, you have a marvelous fortress here, I've inspected it from top to bottom and you see, that's the problem. I can't let such a fine establishment be inhabited by the dead, it's just not right, so I've decided to take it away from you. I just couldn't help myself and I left a bunch of 'presents' on every floor I visited and they all should be going off in about... ten minutes. I'm pretty sure I used enough to engulf the entire fortress in the blast, but we'll see soon enough." Natasha paled at the implication, after all she may survive the destruction but it would takes weeks for her to regenerate from a blast that large but her army on the other hand was a different story, they would be completely decimated.

"Quickly, search the castle! Remove the explosives before they go off, move!" As Natasha's loyal soldiers ran from the throne room a loud laugh was heard once again.

"Oh, I must have made a mistake, giving you so much time to get rid of the explosives. Small problem though, you see they are a special type of bomb, a simple looking piece of paper with an array on it. Funny thing is these demolition tags, once active they blend into any item then are placed on, just like a chameleon! They also burn the array directly into the item they are placed on, so even if you're able to find and remove the tag, the bomb is still active. And, if you damage the array, it immediately goes boom. So, I'm sorry to say but it's completely useless for you to try and stop the explosion."

Natasha growled angry and pointed a finger in the air at the last statement, having finally lost all of her patience. "But that will destroy you too! You must be bluffing!"

Natasha stiffened as she felt a presence suddenly appear right behind her and same voice began to whisper. "What makes you think the real me was ever here? Eight minutes left, time is ticking!"

Natasha screamed in rage as she spun around but the man had already vanished. The vampire roared is anger and began destroying everything in her sight, her magic reducing everything in it's path to junk. When she had finished, Natasha was sucking great gasps of air and the mystery man continued to taunt her as he called out a countdown to the imminent destruction.

* * *

Everyone in the library looked at the clone and motioned to the door. Naruto-3 laughed and nodded as he walked towards the door. "Yep, we can go in now. Just stay behind me, after all I wouldn't want you to get caught in the cross fire, she's kinda... pissed."

As Naruto-3 walked out of the library Natasha immediately spun around, a fireball springing to life in her had. But before she could launch it Naruto thrust his hand out, holding a final Demo tag that was glowing a bright red color, causing the enraged vampire to pause. "Ah ah ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you, you might just set this off and that would be very bad for you... besides, I came out here to give you a wonderful present for being such a good sport! Lili, show her what she's won!"

Lili smirked as she stepped from behind Naruto, opened the Necronomicon and quickly recited the spell that she had found. "Redite ad quietem exercitus mortuorum!(Return to your rest, army of the dead!)"

Natasha's jaw dropped in shock as Lili gave her a mocking grin and waved goodbye at the now defeated undead Queen. "Congratulations Natasha, you've won an express trip to the pits of hell where you will be sealed for a millennium... give or take a few centuries!"

Natasha screeched in fury as she and all of her undead began to turn to smoke and were sucked out of the fortress to a far corner of the realm of the undead. Naruto grinned at his companions celebrated their triumph. "Ok, so who wants to watch this place blow up?"

* * *

Several days later Naruto and co were still looking for a way to get home. The best they could find was a method of hibernation that would continually force their cells to regenerate and keep them in suspension until they reached their own point in time. Just as Lili was preparing the necessary components to cast the spell on them, a loud hum filled the witches chamber and a brilliant flash of light revealed a large floating orb.

Seconds later a section of said orb slid open and a blur rocketed out of it and slammed into Naruto, pinning him down on the ground. Naruto groaned as he shook his head tried to sit up but a pair of hands pushed him back on the ground. Naruto grinned as he saw his girlfriend Gina leaning in for a kiss that turned into a heated make out session. Everyone watched this at first in surprise, embarrassment then envy as the pair continued their session for a few minutes. Finally Gina pulled back and grinned as Naruto sat up.

"I see you missed me. So, where's everyone else?" Gina was about to launch into an explanation but she caught the inquisitive looks of Lili and Asrial out of the corner of her eye. Wrapping her arms around Naruto's neck, Gina looked at the two other women and glared.

"I had a strange feeling that you were in trouble the other day Naruto. Some kind of trouble involving women... care to explain?" As Gina's embrace began to tighten slowly Naruto only had a single thought running through his head.

'Ah hell, she's becoming clairvoyant! I'll never get away with anything ever again!'

One long explanation later

"So let me get this straight... you pretended to be some kind of insane super warrior and allowed a vampire queen controlling a legion of undead to capture you. Then you infiltrated her castle, distracted her with a clone that was in a death match with a ghoul, while the real you rigged the castle to blow... am I missing anything so far?" Naruto shook his head as he grinned.

"Nope, you can keep going, that's right so far." Gina sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose, a headache already forming.

"Then you proceeded to screw with the undead queen's head as the others here found the way to seal the vampire up for approximately a thousand years with the help of another clone disguised as a fox kit, after which you surprised the vamp with the banishment, then you blew up the undead fortress, is that correct?" At Naruto's massive grin Gina groaned and buried her face in her hands. "Naruto, you could have been bitten! You could have been turned into a vampire! How the hell could I go out with a boyfriend that goes poof in the sun and that would turn me into his mid day snack? What were you thinking?"

Naruto grinned and held Gina in his arms, kissing her forehead gently. "I was thinking that if she even thought of biting me then she'd get a mouthful of bones. Remember that time I suddenly disappeared form the game room and you were straddling your stuffed bear? Substitution jutsu, no self respecting shinobi goes into battle without it. I had at least a dozen ways to escape at any moment and I couldn't let her just win."

Gina sighed as she held Naruto close and buried her face in his chest. "I know, I just worry about you... it's what a girlfriend does when her boyfriend is clearly insane. And I still haven't gotten back at you for that stunt in the game room."

Naruto grinned as he looked at his fellow time travelers. "Welp, looks like our ride is here. Lets go everyone. Lili, a pleasure, congrats on defeating Natasha." Lili grinned and waved as everyone jumped back into the floating orb. Moments after they left the doors to Lili's chamber opened and Ryan walked in, a tall mug of mead in his hand. "Hey everyone, dinner is... Lili, where did everyone go?"

A few minutes later

Naruto continued to laugh loudly at the sulking Ryan who had started to freak out when he had heard he was left behind. Of course a few minutes later everyone realized they had forgotten him and turned the time orb around to pick him up. Walking behind Gina Naruto wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top if her head. "So, where are the girls? Did you ever find out where they ended up?"

Gina leaned against Naruto and sighed loudly. "No, Mita was going to continue scanning while I went and picked you all up. We still haven't found the Professor, Genn, Ichi and May either. I hope there's some good news when we get back."

Naruto nodded and looked around the time bubble. His eyes landed on a device with a very familiar marking and Naruto felt a small trickle of worry. "Gina... why do you have a thermonuclear device in the time bubble?" Gina turned around with a smirk as she put her arms around Naruto's neck.

"Oh, it was just something I cooked up in case I had to rescue you through the use of... extreme negotiations."

'And she says I'm crazy, hah!' Naruto grinned and kissed Gina softly before she turned back to the controls of the time bubble.

* * *

Dr. Peachbody watched the events from the middle ages unfold before his eyes and a new feeling began to take root in his diabolical body. Fear, pure unadulterated fear of that blonde haired man, Uzumaki Naruto. He had managed to not only survive against an entire army of undead but had managed to completely lead them around by their collective noses, showing his immense intelligence in manipulation, battlefield know how and tactics. Looking up at his attack boy, Peachbody swallowed loudly as he said what they were both thinking.

"We may have made a small mistake Benji m'boy."


	10. Chapter 10

Ok, so here's the next chapter. And we finally get to see the completed Hiraishin, there's an omake to explain how it get's finished at the end of the chapter since I couldn't find the right spot to put it in while maintaining the flow I created. So, read and enjoy... or read and hate it, it's your choice, just let me know what you think of it in a review

Mita shielded her eyes as a brilliant splinter of light appeared in the middle of the living room, a light that slowly cleared and revealed Gina's time bubble silently hovering above her head.. Moments later the sphere settled on the floor and Gina popped the hatch, clambering out with a victorious grin plastered on her face.

* * *

"Mission complete Mita, I got my man back! Oh and I found some of your friends too." Arnie and Asrial both grinned ruefully as they exited the time bubble, knowing that there was no slight intended by Gina... she was just more concerned with Naruto. Ryan on the other hand grumbled softly as he exited the time bubble, annoyed that he hadn't even been included... again. Mita frowned and cocked her head to the side after turning to look at Gina.

"Well, where is he?" Gina grinned as she jerked a thumb towards Mita's couch and Mita had to cover her mouth to prevent a giggle from escaping. Naruto, the unstoppable shinobi of chaos... was taking a nap. Gina grinned as she crossed her arms under her breasts and shook her head at her boyfriend.

"I can't really blame him, after all he did take out more than half of an undead horde on his own and he's been going full throttle since we were all separated. If anyone needs a break, it's him." Gina softly trailed her fingers along the whiskered check of the sleeping man and was rewarded with a soft purring sound deep in his chest, an action that caused her to smile fondly. 'Don't worry, I'll find the girls and we'll get home babe... after all, we got a groom to hunt down for my little sister!'

* * *

Naruto groaned as he brought an arm up to cover his eyes, not wanting to wake up from his heavenly dream, his girls were a little busy tending to his needs and he didn't want to interrupt the dream for anything. But an insistent poking in his side pulled him from the grip of said amazing dream and thrust him back into the waking world. Opening his eyes a mere sliver Naruto watched a grinning Gina trying to prod him awake. 'Oh no Kirei, I'm not letting you get away with that again...'

Gina was keeping her laughter restrained as she gently prodded the 'sleeping' hyperactive engine of chaos, knowing that he was awake, having had multiple opportunities to watch the blonde man shift from sleep to his cautionary wake up. Even after having both herself and Brianna in his bed for over a month now the blonde man still seemed a little surprised every day that he woke up with them at his side, almost as if he thought that everything he had experienced so far was a dream. Gina closed her eyes and took a deep cleansing breath as she realized that there were still a few walls the blonde shinobi hadn't brought down around his heart, but her and Brianna were making good progress. 'Don't worry, neither of us are going anywhere, we're with you till the end, my love...eh?'

Naruto nearly grinned when he saw Gina close her eyes, seeing a perfect opportunity to strike. Swiftly reaching up Naruto grabbed the distracted scientist and pulled her towards the couch, rolling over on top of the surprised woman and giving her a deep kiss. Gina's eyes widened in shock then slowly closed as as her arms wrapped around Naruto's neck, holding him close as he deepened the kiss. Naruto slowly pulled back and brushed the back of his hand across Gina's cheek, a grin showing his happiness to the woman beneath him. "Kirei... you do remember what I said I'd do if you ever woke me up like that again, don't you?"

Gina's content smile immediately became a confused frown as she thought back to an incident last week, her frown quickly morphing into an expression of panic. Naruto grinned evilly as he flexed his hand and struck, his attack penetrating Gina's defenses as if they weren't even there. Gina valiantly tried to hold in any sound of discomfort but it was in vain as she let the sound she was desperately trying to hold in. "AHAHAHAHAHAH! NOOOOOO!"

Naruto grinned as he slowly stopped his tickle attack and kissed Gina again, giving him time to get up as the happy girl relished the feelings that Naruto caused in her. Rising up from the couch and stretching out slowly, Naruto turned around and nearly fell back as he saw the Quagmire contingent all looking at the awoken powerhouse with looks of shock. Causing Naruto to remember where he was. Chuckling nervously, Naruto idly rubbed the back of his neck then suddenly pitched forward as Gina smacked him in across the back of his head and walked away in a huff. Naruto chuckled as he watched his irate girlfriend walk back over to Mita and her systems, causing the man to look at the others and grin. 'Hey guys, what did I miss?"

''Well young man, other than the return of myself and our comrades from the era of the Dragon Pharaoh, nothing else has recently occurred." Naruto raised his eyebrows at the sound of the cultured voice behind him and glanced over his shoulder, seeing the man that had spoke.

"So I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume your Professor Azland, right?" At the professors curt nod, Naruto nodded back in greeting as he saw there were several new faces that must have arrived while he was taking his nap. Naruto recognized Genn and May as well as the girl that had dropped in with Azland, so almost everyone was accounted for. "Well, looks like everyone is here, cept the girls. Any luck finding them yet Gina?"

Gina looked back at Naruto with a even glare then turned back to the systems that she was using to find her wayward sisters and turned away with another huff, still not over the payback that Naruto had dished out to her. Mita shook her head at the scene and grinned at Naruto. "We've found them, but we're still locking onto the coordinates. It'll take a little while longer to pinpoint their exact location in the time stream since the Chronoverse is in such as state of flux due to the time warp Peachbody is employing against us."

Naruto nodded as he grabbed a can of soda from the table and took a long drink. 'I wonder what they're both up to... and when exactly they landed.'

During the time of El Dorado's landing

"SORRYGOTTAGOANDTAKECAREOFSOMETHINGBYE!"

"BRITTANY, YOU GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!"

Back in the present

Naruto paled as a feeling of dread settled over him, causing him to look over at his annoyed girlfriend. 'I wonder if I could get away with trying to make Kirei hurry up...'

Chapter 10

Brittany gritted her teeth as she raced desperately towards El Dorado, her determination coursing through every fiber of her being. 'If I can just grab the power coupling that Stripe showed me during my tour of the city, I can stop him from ever leaving!' A nagging voice that sounded suspiciously like Gina tried to tell Brittany that she shouldn't mess with the time stream, but Brittany squelched it with a savage thought. 'I just want him to be safe, here, with me! When I bring the coupling back to him in the future then we can all go together to save his planet!'

Brittany slid to a stop right below the city ship that had finally descended far enough that she could sneak on board. A quick glance and Brittany leapt towards a outer hatch, using the code she and her sisters had been given to open any door in the city during their visits, the determined girl swiftly disappearing inside the massive ship.

Brianna arrived just as her sister was entering the hatch and managed to catch a glimpse of Brittany's disappearing tail. Growling in frustration Brianna raced forward and entered the same hatch, intent on stopping her sister before she made things worse. 'She better not let ANYONE see her! She's going to seriously screw things up at this rate!'

Deep inside the ship

Brittany growled internally as she desperately clung to the ceiling of the corridor, hoping that no one below her had the bright idea to look up. Brittany had just entered when a contingent of guards rushed down the passage and the only place she could hide was above their heads. Brittany's claws dug into the ceiling and she held on with all her strength... hoping that her rarely used claws that were desperately trying to hold up a three hundred pound, seven foot tall were-cheetah would come through for her. As the group of guards finally passed through the corridor, Britanny's claws gave out and dropped the annoyed woman on her ass. 'Dammit Stripe, if you had just told me that your home planet was in danger and took me with you, none of this would be necessary! You are in so much trouble when I get you back home!'

Just as Brittany was about to stand, a frosty voice cause the young woman to slowly look behind her. "You're SUPPOSED to land on your feet, Brittany..." Brittany nervously chuckled at the angry glare she was receiving from Brianna and slowly backed away. Brianna lunged forward, and jabbed her finger right in Brittany's face, freezing her to the spot in surprise. "I know exactly what your trying to do Brit! Remember, I used to be 50% you! You think you have it all figured out, don't you? That you can make things go your way? What if you change history? You could end up making it that you and Stripe never meet!" Brittany's gaze lowered to the floor and she took a deep breath as she let Brianna's words sink in.

"It's a risk I'm willing to take! Bye!" Brittany immediately ran for it, leaving a very annoyed Brianna to chase after her.

'Dammit! But, at least I know where she's headed. You shouldn't try and outsmart someone that's got most of Gina's brain sis, it never works out well!'

In the present

Naruto finished re-sealing up all of his materials, looking at his now finished tri-prong kunai with a smirk. 'Well, it's pretty much ready, now I just need a situation to test it in. And I better thank the person that made it possible.' Naruto pocketed the weapon then walked towards Gina as she continued to work on pinpointing her sisters. Wrapping his arms around Gina's waist Naruto leaned forward and kissed the top of her head. "Thanks for the help Kirei, any closer to knowing exactly where to jump?"

Gina, having long since gotten over being annoyed with Naruto leaned against him and hummed softly. "Yep, got them right now actually, ready to go pick them up?" Before Naruto could even answer a flash of light caused him to pull Gina close as he jumped away from the computer terminal that they had been in front of, the smell of burning electronics causing the man to cough uncontrollably. Mita shrieked in anger as she saw her system having a complete meltdown right in front of her eyes.

"What in the... I just upgraded this thing! ARGH! Arnie, look in that drawer beside you, you should find the warranty info there, I need to get this thing fixed now!" Arnie leaned over as instructed to help Mita out but a quick glance outside changed his plans immediately... also the shaking walls kinda tipped him off there may be a problem outside.

"Um, Mita? I think you'll want to look outside, I have a feeling that the problem with your computers isn't covered by your warranty."

Above Mita's house

"Benji, I do believe I went about defeating my enemies in a completely half-assed manner. I think it's time to make their defeat a little more... permanent." Peachbody grinned as he watched the very fabric of space become unraveled before him, causing sections of the town under the time craft to slowly disappear.

"What exactly do you mean Doctor? I thought that we did a good job in getting them thrown around time before!" Peachbody looked at his attack boy, sighed as he shook his head in exasperation.

"Benji, all I ended up doing was basically playing temporal hot potato with them! So we need to go about getting rid of them in a more... destructive way. Alas, I will miss this era, I put so much hard work into it. But, on the bight side, it does mean I can rebuild it to be less... tacky."

In Chronospace

A flash of light and three time bubbles raced through the newly formed time fissure, narrowly avoiding their imminent destruction. Professor Azland let out a deep breath that he had been holding as the group had been attempting their escape. "Is everyone alright? Did we leave anyone behind?" A screen projected itself in the air, showing the interiors of the other two time bubbles. Mita was alone but Gina was with Genn, May and Ichi-kun. "Well, with Asrial, Arnie, Akaru and Ryan here that means... wait, where's Naruto?!"

Gina sighed as she swung her arm away from the controls and a meaty thwack was heard over the comlink. "He's right here, he's just pulling another prank. Brianna and I haven't been able to break him of the habit of pulling them at the worst possible times!" A sheepish looking Naruto reappeared, his hand rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry, it's instinctual now! I must prank, for it is my very nature! That's like trying to get Brittany to stop eating tuna... actually, that gives me an awesome idea for a new..." Naruto trailed off at the death glare his girlfriend was leveling at him. Finally everyone burst out in laughter, the nervous moments that followed their near erasure from time currently forgotten at Naruto's silliness.

"Well, since we're all here, I'm going to take my group and head for the Sphinx artifact. We can't let Peachbody keep using it for his time warp, it's much too dangerous to our continued survival! Mita, how about you?" Azland's time bubble did a quick U-turn and rocketed for the distant past while Mita's continued on ahead.

"I'll take the future, see if there is anything I can use from Peachbody's own time line to end this madness! Gina, you take your group, find your sisters and meet up with us later!"

Gina nodded resolutely as the com channel was cut and her time bubble flew through the Chronoverse, directly towards the coordinates that would take them to their quarry.

In the past, El Dorado's engine room

Brianna leaned forward, peeking around the corner of the corridor that led to the main drive systems for El Dorado. Multiple Kryn technicians were milling about, doing everything they could to keep their equipment functioning under the heavy bombardment from Atlantis' weapons. 'Brit is going to have to make her way here if she wants to stop them. The only way to do it would be to take out the main power coupling, which is insane with all these people around. Not even Brittany is fast enough to do that and not be seen'

Brianna scanned back and forth, hoping to catch a glimpse of her elusive older sister. A sudden movement in her peripheral vision caused Brianna to quickly look to her right, the sight before her making her blood run cold. Brittany was grasping onto what she must have thought was the power coupling and was getting ready to rip it from it's housing. 'OH SHIT! That's the shield regulator! NO!' As soon as Brittany pulled the component off the massive city ship shook violently, alarms blared as heavy fire was causing massive damage to the already over taxed ship. Brianna growled in frustration as she ran forward and grabbed her confused older sister by the shoulder.

"Brianna! What happened, I thought that the engines would just shut down!" Brittany was clutching at the shield regulator and looked like she was about to cry as the ship took a pounding.

"YOU. OUTSIDE. NOW." Brianna roughly pulled her sister out of the engine room and the pair dashed towards an outer hatch, managing to make it a short distance away from the apparently doomed city. "Well, that was a great idea sis, now Atlantis can destroy El Dorado since it's shields are down. Apparently your so mad at Stripe you don't want him to even exist, is that it? Cause if it is then your doing a mighty fine job!"

"But... you're saying this isn't the power coupling?" Brianna gave a mocking laugh as she pulled open her jacket, assembling several pieces into a very large gun.

"Got it in one. Brit. You're holding a shield regulator, the second you ripped that off you sealed El Dorado's fate."

Brittany's eyes widened in horror as she shoved the component towards Brianna. "Quick, we have to go back, we can put it back in it's place!"

Brianna slowed the assembly of her weapon and looked at Brittany seriously. "Sis, you ripped it out of it's casing. It's junk now, every internal circuit was fried when that happened. It'd be like trying to fix the lights with a broken fuse. But this... this may even the odds a bit." Brianna held up the very large handgun that was giving off a very high pitched whine. Squeezing the trigger a large blast of blue energy was flung towards Atlantis. Moments later the blast hit the Atlantean shields and both girls held their breath, waiting to see if their prayers were answered.

In the future

Mita had done it, she had managed to enter Peachbody's personal time stream... and the sights she was witness to made her sick to her stomach. Peachbody had been right, canines ruled this world... or rather, a canine ruled this world, Peachbody himself. All others were under his thrall, the smallest hint of disobedience or rebellion was quashed immediately. Mita had switched over to Ghost mode, making her invisible to the population below her. Placing a portable emitter on her wrist Mita exited her time bubble after it had landed at what appeared to be a museum. Moments later several messages were broadcast over the pa system, all of them sounding innocent enough, but Mita was not convinced. Taking a audio sample she ran it through the time bubble's systems and found a underlying audio stream, which caused Mita to growl in anger as she heard what was being said underneath the 'innocent welcome'.

"Obey or die! Peachbody is supreme! All hail Peachbody! Independent thought is treason!" Mita quickly entered the museum, desperate to find something that would prevent such a insane dog from ruling the world under his iron paw. Mita looked towards a very large statue the obviously was Peachbody and saw a small puppy with another dog that could only be it's mother. As Mita stepped closer she heard their conversation and smiled at innocence of the puppy, not understanding that some things( such as it's parents disgust with Peachbody) shouldn't be repeated in public. As Mita stopped to listen she head something that was potentially helpful. As she continued to listen a devilish smirk appeared on Mita's face, a smirk that was present as she re entered her time bubble and left the era of Peachbody. In the Museum the message Mita had been listening continued to play back and no one knew how bad this would be for their 'beloved' ruler.

"The Legacy of Dr. Peachbody began with the birth of a primitive puppy named Pickles at the Rosey Hill Puppy Farm, his date of birth was..."

* * *

"Is it working Brianna?" As a salvo of return fire from El Dorado was shrugged off by the apparently unfazed shields, Brianna sighed as she lowered her gun.

"In a word... No. This E.M.P Blaster just doesn't have enough power to make a difference. I've got nothing left sis... I'm sorry but it's over for El Dorado."

Suddenly both girl's were cut off from seeing El Dorado by a large silvery sphere that landed right in front of them. A moment later Gina popped her head out of the entrance and jerked a thumb inside. "You two, get in the time bubble, we've got to get out of here!"

"Whoa, hang on Gina, we need your help! Brittany here doomed El Dorado and we need to save them!" As Brianna stopped talking she gasped in joy when Naruto leaned out of the time bubble to look at the warring cities behind him.

"Wow, that looks like a awesome... MMPH!" Naruto was cut off as Brianna jumped in his arms and kissed him deeply, her arms around his neck preventing him from pulling away. A moment later Brianna realized what was going on and pulled away, a sheepish, "Sorry!" her only apology.

"Naruto! I need you to get up there and take down their shields! Go get'em stud!" Naruto looked at Brianna incredulously and shook his head, backing away from the fight.

"Oh no, I ain't going up there! First off, I can't fly! Well... not yet anyways, still haven't gotten the hang of that and second, all the attacks I have are for massive property damage, the only one that could hit them from here would the Rasenshuriken. But at that range, I'd have to make it insanely over powered! Not to mention if it even penetrated the shields it would completely destroy the city! There has to be another way!"

As Brittany chewed on her lower lip nervously, Brianna had the feeling she should look inside the time bubble. The sight before her made her cock her head to the side in surprise. "Genn? Why are you leaning on a... a nuke! That's perfect!" Letting go of Naruto, Brianna grabbed the nuke and placed it in front of Brittany. "Brit! This is the answer to all our problems! Ready for a fastball special?"

Brittany grinned and grabbed the weapon, not even paying attention as Gina started to throw a fit at her sisters stealing her weaponry. Naruto sighed and pulled Gina back into his arms, causing the young genius to stop yelling and settle for pouting at her two sisters while being held. Brittany reared back and let the nuke fly from her hands and everyone watched as it hit the shields of Atlantis, collapsed them and forced the largely intact city to fall towards the ocean.

Gina sighed as she watched the city ship crash into the ocean and begin to sink beneath the waves, a victim of her enhanced weaponry. "It was even one of my special types of nukes, no radiation, very little residual heat..." Gina trailed off as she made her way back to the time bubble, pointedly ignoring her sisters as they tried to explain just why they took her bomb without even an explanation. Brianna looked at Brittany, shrugged her shoulders and latched onto Naruto, grinning as everyone entered the time bubble.

"So, what did we miss?"

With Azland and his group

Professor Azland was having a very bad day. He had assumed with the large number of experienced fighters he had with him they could restrain Peachbody's attack boy long enough to wrest control of the Sphinx from the clearly insane mongrel. 'Of course, I think I may need to reassess the combat potential of my associates, after this fight is over. And if we survive.' Azland looked at all of his friends as they slowly picked themselves off of the ground and faced their opponent again.

"Shall I finish them off for you now sir?" Peachbody laugh softly as he relaxed from his seat on the time craft, having a ball watching these foolish humans try and beat his attack boy.

"Oh no Benji, the fun has just begun, let them struggle some more so they can see the futility... wait a moment, what's that sound?" A high pitched alarm was coming from the control system of the sphinx, Peachbody accessed his terminal and whined pitifully. "No... NO! Benji, we must leave immediately!"

Azland cocked his head to the side as he watched Peachbody and Benji jump on the time craft and retreat... when they were already winning. 'What in the... huh?" Azland felt his temporal communicator vibrate, letting him know that Mita had texted him. Pulling the device out of his pocket as he walked over to the sphinx and began the process of stopping the time warp, Azland read the message and grinned. His task complete Azland locked the main computer against any other users and went to help his friends to their feet. "Brilliant, absolutely brilliant Mita. So, who wants to take a trip to the 80's for the final showdown?"

With Naruto and company in the Chronoverse

Naruto had unrolled a scroll and was attaching several pouches that he had unsealed to his belt and his thighs, soon after he began to fill them with multiple throwing stars and kunai. Brianna rubbed her chin as she saw that some of the kunai were shaped differently, a tri-prong design she hadn't seen before. Before she could ask about the new weapons one of the indicators on the controls for the time bubble began to beep softly, getting Gina's attention from her scanning. Several moments later Gina turned around, a triumphant look on her face as she grinned at her passengers.

"We've got him cornered now."

Naruto's face gained a feral grin, as he began to open and close his hands in anticipation for the chance to actually beat the crap out of Benji without any distractions. 'No more synthoids or time warps to save you this time. Just you, me and the ass whupping you deserve, teme!'

In the 80's with Mita

Mita smiled in victory as she read through a magazine in the veterinarian's waiting room. 'Well, I give it another... thirty minutes and this whole debacle will be a bad memory.' Mita grinned as she turned the page on her magazine when a massive crash behind her quickly changed the grin to a look of dread. A hand reached through the hole and grabbed Mita by the back of her jacket, roughly hauling her out of the waiting room. Said hand held her in the air in front of the very instigator of this whole mess, Peachbody.

"The sheer audacity! To have the utter GALL to threaten MY ancestor! Benji! Finish her once and for all!" The fingers in Benji's free hand stiffened and the loyal attack boy thrust his hand forward, intent on ending Mita's life with a single blow. Mita shut her eyes, knowing that she had no way out and accepted that she as going to die... but several seconds later when the blow didn't land Mita cautiously opened her eyes and nearly sobbed in relief, her friends had arrived just in time to save her again.

Asrial had a solid hold on Benji's arm as she balanced on his thigh, using it as a foothold to stop the killing strike. Arnie had arrived from above, his falling elbow drop impacting the top of Benji's head. Akaru and Ryan took the open sides of Benji's face, Akaru using a powerful right to Benji's jaw and Ryan(ever the showoff) did a double flying kick to Benji's left cheek. The stunned attack boy let Mita go and all four of his assailants thought that they had managed to beat him, at least for now. But this hope was shattered as Benji reached over, grabbed Asrial by her forearm and threw her through the nearby storefront of a Crafts store. The others immediately backed away, but Ryan was too slow and he met a similar fate, crashing into the local Taco Hut, scaring the hell out of all the diners inside as they fled the resturant.

Akaru and Arnie looked at each other, nodded once then ran forward together, hoping that working together they could overpower the enraged attack boy. But Benji was keeping up with their coordinated attack and managed to put Akaru down again with a powerful palm strike, sending the boy skidding along the ground till he hit a fire hydrant. Arnie raised his arms to block an incoming blow but Benji's fist blew right through his defense, stunning the large man and setting him up for multiple followup hits from Benji. Benji finished off his attack with an uppercut, sending the massive man tumbling back, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. All four of the beaten youths stood up on shaky legs, more than willing to go another round against the monstrous strength of the attack boy but Peachbody's mocking laughter stopped them in their tracks. "Ah, I see that you have followed me here as well. Pity, you would have lived longer if you had run away. Of course I would have tracked you down eventually, so I must thank you for saving me the trouble. Benji, remove your limiter, it's time to finish this."

Benji grinned ferally as he ripped his spiked collar free from his neck and wisps of energy began to slowly circle his body. A massive surge of power exploded from his body, sending all the debris around him flying. Arnie's eyes widened as Benji literally exploded into action, his speed having increased dramatically as he crossed the distance between both fighters in a second. Benji savagely buried his fist in Arnie's stomach, forcing the tall man to his knees as he spat out some blood. Benji pulled Arnie's head up by his hair, his free hand glowing with an eerie light as he prepared to end his opponents life.

"Arnie! NO!" Asrial ran out of the destroyed shop that she landed in but she knew she would never make it in time. But as she tried to reach her friend, a blur raced by her and careened towards Benji. The blur reached the pair and suddenly everyone was able to see it was Brittany, her fist lashing out in a powerful left cross. Benji was thrown back into the vet's office, crashing through the room that Pickles was being operated on, letting the young pup run free until Genn grabbed him in his arms. Brittany grabbed Arnie and raced away from the scene, knowing what was going to happen next.

"MOVE! GET OUTTA THE WAY EVERYONE! CLEAR THE ROAD!" All of the injured fighters heard the serious tone of the running were cheetah and knew it would be a bad idea to stay there. Just as they all got out of the middle of the intersection they had been trashing Benji managed to pull himself free of the ruined vet's office, confused at the fact everyone had run away. A moment later a tri-pronged knife flashed through the air, hit the ground in front of the confused Benji and suddenly the area in front of Benji was bathed in a bright flash of light. A moment later a powerful uppercut knocked the attack boy off his feet, sending him crashing to the ground, but the attacker was not done. Grabbing Benji by his shirt the attack boy was hoisted up and a swift palm strike was delivered to his stomach, causing Benji to stumble back in agony as he coughed up blood. As the attack boy fell to his knees he looked up at the very serious face of Naruto, his red eyes causing Benji to freeze in surprise.

"Anyone that helps the mutt deserves what's coming to them. You tried to kill Arnie and Mita right now and you tried to kill my girlfriends multiple times before. So, you've used up the last ounce of mercy I could possibly have for you." Naruto disappeared from Benji's sight causing the now worried attack boy to frantically try and find the newest fighter he faced. A shadow above Benji caught his attention, his eyes widening in shock as Naruto rocketed towards him at breakneck speeds, his arm extended and a glowing sphere extended at the attack boy. Benji dove to the side, narrowly escaping the attack but the immense pressure from the resulting explosion sent him and a large amount of debris skidding away. As the smoke cleared Benji paled at the destruction that Naruto had caused, a crater that was easily ten feet wide was located on the spot he had been standing. Naruto's angry stare pinned the attack boy to his spot as his opponent spoke again. "I'm done playing, BOY. You want a fight, I'll give you a fight. And then it's the end for you Peachbody, no more games, you're going to die today."

Peachbody blinked at the sudden turn of events and growled softly. "Never, I'll never end my mission until my goal is complete and you are all dead! Benji! Engage Hypermode!" At these words Benji crossed his arms over his face as a massive influx of energy kicked up strong winds around his body. Naruto frowned deeply, this feeling reminding him of something... or rather, someone. As Benji's energy reached it's peak a blast of pressure flew off of him, his now red skin causing Naruto to growl lowly in anger. Naruto leveled a murderous glare at Peachbody and pointed his finger at the canine furiously.

"How in the hell did you do that to him! He shouldn't be able to use the Gates!" At Peachbody's smirk Naruto's growl stopped and he turned back to Benji, barely having felt the enraged boy move towards him in a mad dash. Naruto raised his arm to deflect the blow facing for his face but the chakra enhanced fist sent him skidding back but failed to knock him off his feet. Naruto wiped the thin line of blood that trickled from his lip and immediately created two clones, nodding at them as they left the battle. Closing his eyes, Naruto took a deep breath as he lowered his guard. Benji raced forward with a roar, intent on destroying the ones that had stopped Peachbody at every turn. All of Naruto's friends screamed for him to move, but the man didn't move a muscle.

Just before Benji's strike was about to his Naruto, the blonde's hand rose up faster than anyone's eyes could follow and stopped Benji's fist a mere centimeter from his face. Naruto's eyes snapped open, his yellow eyes promising intense pain for the attack boy as he began to squeeze his hand, nearly crushing Benji's fist. "You know, you should never take you eyes off of your surroundings, especially when fighting the most unpredictable shinobi of all time!" The two shadow clones suddenly reappeared, kicking Benji high into the air. Naruto disappeared from sight again and was suddenly far above the rapidly rising Benji, his arm extended towards the sky above him as he looked towards his rapidly approaching foe. A blast of focused wind chakra sent Naruto hurtling downward as he spun and landed an axe kick on top of Benji's head, sending him crashing to ground with a massive explosion of dust and debris. Naruto landed and watched shock as Benji slowly rose, his wounds starting to slowly close one after another. Naruto growled again, his mind racing as he tried to think of a way to end this fight quickly, the voice of Peachbody suddenly interrupted his concentration.

"Ah Benji, truly he is the epitome of our experimentation in genetic research. He was the only one out of a thousand to survive the necessary experimentation to implant the... what do you call it? Ah yes, chakra circulatory system. That added in with several enhanced 'gifts' makes Benji nigh unstoppable. Of course, all of his wonderful abilities would not be possible if not for me. Where I managed to get such wonderful specimens... I'll let you figure that out. Alas, I think it's time we upped the ante, as you appear to be finally taking this seriously.. Benji, Final fusion!" Benji leapt towards his master, his maniacal grin letting everyone know that the fight was far from over. Both Peachbody and Benji began to glow brightly and a pillar of light shot to the sky, causing everyone to pull back, Naruto merely stood tall and watched the storm of energy before him, feeling the two distinct patterns of energy for Benji and Peachbody meld into a single form.

'Well, that's probably not a good thing.'

* * *

Gina, Mita and Professor Azland watched the battle from an alleyway, knowing that they'd be a liability in this fight if they got too close. Gina cocked an eyebrow at the scene before her and sighed. "What the heck is this, a rip off of Dragonball Z? Professor Azland, there must be something we can do to stop those two. Naruto should be able to take them down but he'll probably end up destroying half the city... if we're lucky. He may be a shinobi, but when he gets serious he's not exactly the most … subtle person."

The professor rubbed his chin as he looked at the resulting fusion of Peachbody and Benji, the clearly enraged Naruto and his time craft that was innocently floating above their heads. A smirk slowly appeared on his face and Azland turned to face Gina and Mita. "I have a plan and it let's everyone have a crack at the insane mutt.."

* * *

Naruto was dodging as the new and improved Benji was racing towards him and began to rapidly throw multiple punches and kicks, trying to box the shinobi in for a more powerful attack. Naruto, fully immersed in his Sennin modo, was able to dodge out of the way of each attack, further infuriating the amalgam before him. Just as Naruto was about to move in and attack, he noticed Gina out of the corner of his eye as she waved to get his attention. Naruto created a new clone to see what she wanted as he focused back on his opponent, watching him gather more chakra before he rushed Naruto, nearly catching him off guard. Naruto began to block each attack, putting more power into the final block that knocked Benji's leading arm downward, providing him with a perfect opening. Naruto raised both arms and brought them down in a double axe handle, slamming Benji into the ground and sending a cloud of debris into the air as the falling Benji caused the street to crater and break apart. Jumping back Naruto smirked at the effectiveness of the attack, having learned it from flipping through channels on tv and catching part of a wrestling match. He knew the fight was obviously not as serious as both men had portrayed it, but several of their moves interested Naruto in their potential to be added to his freestyle form of combat. A sudden influx of memory caused Naruto to grin as he looked at Gina, winked at her and then leapt back into the fray, knowing exactly how to get Benji to fall into their trap.

Another hand sign and Naruto vanished from sight, causing Benji to immediately put up his guard, expecting an attack from any angle... except directly below him. The pair of hands that flew out of the ground grasped Benji's ankles and pulled the fused being part way into the ground and continued to hold on. As Benji struggled to free himself Asrial ran forward, holding a pickup truck in her hands and used an overhand swing to try and crush the stuck attack boy. Benji's screamed in pain as the truck hit him and in a fit of rage he used his enhanced strength to tear the truck to pieces. Just as he was about to try and free himself again a blast of azure energy hit him from behind, face planting him into the ground. Turning around, Benji growled as he saw the smirking Ryan Tabbot beat a hasty retreat before Benji could even think about reaching for him.

"Gnats, all of you are gnats! When we free ourselves we will destroy you all!" Benji continued to pull against the grip that kept his body half buried and was surprised to feel it mysteriously vanish. A moment later the fused man pulled himself free, cackling madly as he imagined what he would do to his foes. A moment later a blonde and white blur appeared before him and Benji was greeted by the smirking face of Brittany and a spinning heel kick right to the chin, sending Benji rocketing towards a storefront but before he could hit he was intercepted by May who threw Benji high into the air. Akaru and Ichi both leapt towards the rapidly rising man and with perfect synchronization they sent Benji flying back to the ground with a pair of axe kicks, both hitting the being's collarbones. Everyone on the ground winced as the sound of the bones snapping and the shrill scream in both Benji and Peachbody's voices as they fell towards the ground, but they were not done, Naruto intercepted Benji again and threw him back in the air, towards a falling Arnie. Arnie grabbed onto Benji and held him close in a deadly looking pile driver, ramming the fused man's head into one of the few undamaged portions of the street that remained. Arnie quickly ran towards Naruto and the others, ready to keep pounding on their enemy but Benji suddenly leapt from the ruined street, the heavily beaten man's injuries slowly healed before their eyes but the man leapt away towards the stolen time craft. "A noble effort, but you managed to only knock out the portion of my brain currently occupied by Benji! Although that means my skills in fighting are now gone, so I will take my leave of you all and return to finish you all off later!"

Naruto grinned as he looked over at his girlfriends, Mita and Azland as they put the finishing touches on their contribution to the fight, a detonator that could produce a signal that would overload the time craft's engines. "Hit it!" Gina grinned as she pushed the plunger down, transmitting a signal that caused the time craft to explode before it could make it's jump to the Chronoverse. Naruto sighed as he walked towards Gina and Brianna, wrapping his arms around both girls shoulders and letting them support him. "Finally, the mutt is gone. So, did he get blown up? Please tell me he was blown to pieces."

Gina looked at Naruto and grinned as she adjusted her glasses. "Nope, he wouldn't have died from that explosion... but he did get thrown somewhere in time. Where would you say he landed, Professor?"

Professor Azland rubbed his chin as he went over several calculations in his mind. "Well I would have to say that he's going to have a very long wait to reach his own time line, after all he's about five hundred million years in the past now... give or take a million years."

Naruto closed his eyes as he relaxed, the fight was finally over. "Ok, now we are going home. I'm hungry, I'm tired and I really need a shower." Gina and Brianna both grinned at each other as they dragged their tired hero towards a time bubble.

"Well, it looks like your so tired that we'll have to help you with your shower Naru. Don't worry, we'll make sure your cleaned up properly." Naruto looked at each girl in shock, then he began to smirk as he was dragged towards the time bubble, his thoughts on the upcoming activities with his girls. Brittany, Genn and Ryan all looked at each other and shrugged, making their way to their ride home.

500,000,000 years in the past

Benji sat on the ground and sighed as he looked around, seeing nothing but dirt, plants and large prehistoric lizards as far as his eyes could see. "I really, really, hate that man. I'll get him, one way or another, someday. I, Alfred Peachbody, will crush all my enemies beneath my paws and rule the world once more."

End Chapter

Omake – How did Naruto fix the Flying Thunder God Seal?

Naruto was sitting at a table in Mita's house, several scrolls and a multiple books covering almost every corner of the eating surface he had claimed. A very interest Ichi-kun was watching as the ancient shinobi unsealed several weapons, checked them for signs of wear and then sealed them back up. To his right was a very complex array, it seemed to call out to the inquisitive young girl and she couldn't resist reaching for it. A iron hard grip caught her wrist just as she was about to touch the unfurled scroll and the ninja girl weakly laughed in embarrassment. "Sorry?"

"Oh, it's ok, I just wanted to make sure you didn't drain almost all your life energy out of you by touching that. It's a stasis seal and even if I release it you'd be out of commission for at least a week." Ichi-kun eep'ed and pulled her hand back, staring at the multitude of seals laid out in front of her.

"Wow... what do they all do? I've never seen anything like them before!" Naruto grinned and put down the book he had been consulting as he pointed at several seals and rattled off information about each of them.

"Explosive seal, containment seal, seal of holding, seal of darkness which is totally awesome, it makes someone think they've gone blind. And here we have the creme de la creme, the Flying Thunder God seal... which is completely useless at the moment. I still haven't had time to work on finishing it yet, because some people keep having crazy amounts of insanity occurring around them at all times!" Naruto finished off his explanation with a massive grin directed at the back of his still annoyed girlfriend. Ichi-kun looked at the Flying Thunder God seal in confusion.

"So why isn't this one finished? What exactly makes it useless?" Naruto sighed as he picked up the kunai marked with the seal formula and looked at in exasperation.

"Because every time I use it all of my chakra gets sucked out to power the technique. I haven't been able to figure out a way to power the technique without becoming a complete invalid for a day. It's completely useless in combat right now but I know it works, my dad used it to defeat an entire army before I was born." Naruto sighed as he rubbed his head furiously in frustration. Gina sighed as she walked over, looked at the array and then pointedly stared at the source of her annoyance.

"If I tell you how to fix it, you owe me... big time. Deal?" Naruto looked at Gina in wide eyed amazement and nodded solemnly, knowing his girlfriend was able to piece together answers from the barest of clues and hoped that this was one of those times. Gina smirked as she traced a finger along Naruto's cheek, leaned forward and said only three words. "Kinetic energy absorption."

Gina turned around abruptly and sauntered back over to her terminal. As she heard Naruto quickly searching through several manuals her smirk became more and more pronounced until finally she heard the sound of her man repeatedly hitting his forehead against the table and softly repeating a mantra that was music to her ears. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

'Heh, score's all tied up now babe... it's your move now.' Mita shook her head in amazement at the events that had just occurred and the triumphant smirk on Gina's face.

'Yep, they're definitely made for each other.'


	11. Chapter 11

To all of those reading this, I present the next chapter, my longest one yet. Been stuck with moving and lack of internet so I decided to give you a real big chapter to read. Again, reviews are much appreciated and I seriously hope I get a few this time around, the last two chapters I only got one each so it makes a guy wonder if he's screwing up or not.

Daybreak

Naruto sat on top of the Diggers home, eyes watching intently as the sun slowly rose in the sky, a celestial symbol of the cycle of life and a reminder that the darkness can never win for good, that all things must be in balance. Closing his eyes Naruto sighed in contentment, feeling the warm rays from the sun as it began it's slow climb to the zenith of the sky. Naruto grinned widely as he felt a pair of arms wrap around him from behind, the large pair of breasts letting him know it was Brianna that had found him this morning. Every once in a while, the blonde shinobi snuck out of bed to watch the sunrise and every time one of his girls managed to find him just as the sun peaked over the horizon. Naruto leaned back and relaxed, the half were cheetah content to just hold the man that had saved her life as the pair enjoyed the sun rise. Moments later a tired Gina climbed a ladder, crawled towards Naruto and settled in his lap, resting her head against the chuckling man's chest. "Still not much of a morning person, eh Kirei?"

Gina mumbled softly as she put her arms around Naruto's waist, pulling herself closer to her new pillow, not wanting to give up her comfortable spot. Brianna leaned forward and kissed Naruto's cheek, resting her chin on his shoulder as she watched the sun continue it's climb. "So, are we ready for today? After all, we're probably going into a war zone."

Naruto looked over his shoulder and cocked an eyebrow at his girlfriend. "We better be ready, I've been in a war and it's not pretty. Ever moment could be your last, all you can do is push on and do your best to fight through the madness. I'll be with you girls all the way, I'm not going to let any of you die, even if I have to sacrifice myself to make sure that happens. And you both know how I feel about promises." Brianna sniffled and buried her face in Naruto's neck while Gina's tears soaked his shirt covered chest, neither of them wanting to even think about losing Naruto after having just found him. Naruto thought back on the last twenty four hours, the final day before his new family and himself rode into the unknown.

Chapter 11

Flashback - 24 hours ago

Naruto panted slowly and looked at the state of the newly repaired Pit of Boom... well, the once newly repaired Pit of Boom that is. Now that he had managed to crack the Hiraishin no Jutsu's final hurdle he had been practicing it almost none stop after the quartet's return from their impromptu temporal war. 'Adding in a new jutsu isn't like slapping a new set of tires on a car. I need to think of ways to incorporate it into my fighting style, as well as my other new surprise I managed to acquire.' Naruto grinned as he looked at the now worse for wear room, having a good feeling on his preparations for the upcoming fight. Grabbing a towel that had somehow managed to escape the carnage, Naruto decided to check up on Gina and the others. A quick hand seal later and Naruto vanished from the room, the only indication that he had been there was a brief flash of light and the steaming remains of the far wall.

Lab 1

Gina sighed, finally deciding it was time to stop putting of her next task. The young genius approached the closed doors that led into her once pristine lab and sniffled softly as she thought about the attack that would have most likely gotten her killed... if Naruto hadn't been here. Gina closed her eyes and smiled softly as she though of her boyfriend and all that he had done for her and her sisters in the short time they had known him. 'I need to do something nice for him, after all he does so much for us it's almost not fair.' Gina opened her eyes again and finally cycled the lock for the doorway, sighing once more as she looked over the decimated lab equipment in front of her. Moments later Gina felt a pair of arms settle on her head as the person behind her used her as an arm rest, causing Gina's eyes to settle on a deadpan expression. "What do you want Brit?"

"Well I thought I'd come and see how you were doing on the hyperdrive! We still need to get Stripe back after all, it should be ready tomorrow, right?" Gina looked at her grinning younger sister with a flabbergasted expression, not understanding how the girl could even ask such a question at a time like this.

"Sis, the lab is gone... GONE! Everything I was working on is destroyed and buried, I didn't even have enough money to replace pieces of my toolbox!" Brittany crossed her arms under her breasts and sighed, a look of apology on her face as Gina's face fell towards the ground, her hair covering her eyes as she she sniffled a few times.

"Look, Gina, I'm sorry that your lab got messed up. I'll help you out in anyway I can, look I already started by making you lunch! It's your favorite..."

Gina sniffled again, reached forward and Brittany placed the brown bag she had brought with her in her older sister's outstretched hand, a mumbled, "Thanks Brit, I'm sorry I snapped at you..." causing the were cheetah to grin. A moment later a loud ringing echoed through the destroyed room, causing Brittany to grin as she pulled out her phone. "Charlotte! So, did she go for it? Awesome, it's a deal! See you soon, later!"

Gina looked at her younger sister with caution as she put away her phone, the large grin having never left Brittany's face. "Sis, what was that call about?"

Brittany's grin was even larger as she put her arm around her older sister's shoulders."Trust me, you'll thank me for it later. Let's get started cleaning up in here... hey, where's Naruto? He'd be perfect for this. I mean, one hand sign and poof, instant work crew!"

"That's true, but he's been busy getting ready for whatever we're going to be facing on the planet. He needs to focus on that while I focus on the scientific side. He's already done enough, it's time to show him that we can all stand on our two feet and help him as well." While the two girls began to sort through the destroyed lab, Naruto grinned from his perch in a darkened corner, having heard the entire conversation. The shinobi knew what it felt like to show people that you weren't helpless and respected them both in their decision. As both girls turned towards their daunting task., a flash of light was the only announcement of Naruto's departure.

Armory

Brianna yawned loudly and stretched her arms over her head, boredom settling in as she waited for the automated systems in her lab to finish the final stage of construction. Her latest project that had been developed by her and Gina specifically for this mission, since none of them had any idea what they were in for both girls wanted to make sure they did everything they could to be prepared, including having Naruto increase his arsenal with something more... modern. 'He may have come from a culture that was severely low tech in every day life, but Naru sure has adapted to the way we do things here quickly. Time to throw him into the deep end of the technology pool and see how he likes it.' Just as Brianna was about to lower her arms, a new pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist, causing the young woman to tense for a moment until a familiar scent reached her nose. Spinning around Brianna leaned forward and kissed Naruto quickly, a brilliant smile on her face as her arms went around her boyfriend's neck.

"Hey stud, how did the workout go? Ready to kick some bad guy ass?" Naruto grinned and kissed the tip of Brianna's nose as he nodded.

"Of course I am, the real question is did you get the items you have both basically ordered me to use finished?" Brianna was about to answer when a loud buzzer went off, causing a smirk to appear.

"Honestly, you have the best timing, it's all done. Behold, one new suit of armor, crafted to our specifications and with the ability to work with your powers! That time we spent analyzing your chakra after you revealed yourself was instrumental in it's creation!" Naruto looked at Brianna with a cocked eyebrow, remembering the testing that she had brought up.

Another Flashback – Ten weeks ago

Naruto walked into the main lab, smiling at Gina and Brianna as they were prepared their equipment to run some tests on his chakra, hoping to make some sense from the abilities that the shinobi had shown. Both girls were confident if they got enough information they could whip up something that could use Naruto's chakra as a power source, all they needed was some hard data to start the process. 'May as well, after all they both are determined to understand everything around them and having a mystery like chakra staring them in the face would probably drive them nuts.'

Gina turned around and smiled widely at Naruto as she rose from her seat and walked towards her blonde hero. Gina grabbed onto one of Naruto's arms and guided him towards the regeneration tube that she and her sister had set up for this phase of testing. Once the pair were standing in front of the tube Gina let Naruto go, stepped back and bite her lower lip then grinned at the oblivious shinobi.

"Ok, Naruto... your clothes will mess with the readings, so I need you to strip!"

End flashback

Brianna opened the pod behind her while Naruto crossed his arms over his chest as he stepped closer. A metallic chest piece hung suspended in the air as well as a pair of bracers that would extend from his knuckles to his elbow and finally a pair of sleek armored boots that would reach Naruto's knees rounded out the armor package, causing Naruto to nod in satisfaction as he finished his initial inspection. "So this is what you both want me to use for this next mission eh?"

Yet another Flashback – Two days ago

All four of the occupants of the house had been discussing the upcoming mission to retrieve Stripe and trying to guess at the type of opposition they would face. During the discussion about possible combat in orbit around Aebra and the idea of Naruto using some form of power armor came up, Naruto jumped to his feet in excitement, having decided to find a way to fight in a vacuum. "Nah, all I need is a chamber that is in a complete vacuum like space and I'll be set! I'm sure I can whip up a seal to make it possible. Any chance you have a place like that around her that I can use Gina?"

Gina's expression went from contemplative to furious in seconds. Standing quickly the young genius slammed her hands on table, wanting to make sure she had Naruto's attention. "Absolutely not! Even if I did have a vacuum chamber for you to use, I am not letting you try and create a technique that allows you to survive in space! What if you get knocked unconscious? Then what? Your technique could fail and you die! And from what you've told me a seal like that would take a constant stream of chakra to maintain, your not a bottomless battery of chakra right now and you could run out in the middle of the fight!" Gina crossed her arms under her breasts and glared at her smiling boyfriend who was seated at the kitchen table, calmly eating the snacks that they had laid out for the discussion.

"Come on Gina, what do you think is going to happen? Your acting like I going to get defeated by some kind of unknown evil galactic military force that enslaved multiple races hundreds of millennium ago." Gina and Brianna both glared at Naruto for several seconds and the still somewhat slow shinobi realized that yes, that was exactly what they were afraid was going to happen to him. After a moment of reviewing his options, Naruto placed his elbows on the table, rested his head in the palms of his hands and sighed, knowing that he wasn't going to win this argument. "Fine, I won't fight in space without some form of protection that you two will make for me... happy?"

Naruto sighed as he felt two pairs of arms hold him close and he couldn't help but think, 'Gah, it's impossible to be annoyed with people that are this concerned about me... damn you both, I will get my revenge!.'

End flashback

Naruto hmm'ed critically at the jet black armor before him, inspecting the workmanship and nodding at the fact the armor flexed under his fingers when he pushed against it lightly. Brianna put her hands behind her back and bounced happily as she began her explanation on the new fighting gear she had prepared for her boyfriend.

"So, like we discussed the main components are made up of a material similar to a very high tech chain mail that Gina and I call call flex-weave. There is some tension because of the built in circuitry and how the weave is made but it still has a pretty good amount of give, something that you'll need when you go full out. The scans we performed on you before show that even when your not molding chakra you're emitting a low level field of the stuff naturally and this baby will take advantage of that. Think of it like a constantly recharging battery, you can force chakra into the system but you'll have to stop all techniques during the few moments that you're doing that. The on board systems are constantly monitoring your surroundings for any projectiles and high output energy that approach within a meter. If anything is detected that could breach the armor the chakra that's stored in your power system will cause the endangered area of the suit to go rigid and also reinforce it with chakra, dispersing the attack across a larger area and hopefully minimizing any damage. We don't know how powerful these guys are and you need to either wait for the unit to charge after taking several hits or stand their like a target dummy while you do it yourself I'd recommend that you avoid multiple, consecutive hits. The setup you see here is your standard armor mode, useful for most fights. The system also responds to several voice commands, one of which is 'Flight mode'. When this is said the armor accesses the hyperspace pocket we created for you and will reconfigure automatically into... this."

At a touch of a button on the pod's control panel a flash of light appeared, obscuring the armor. When it cleared the chest piece now sported a pair of spaulders and were connected with the new gauntlets that replaced the bracers. The streamlined boots were replaced by a set of bulkier boots that appeared to have several vents on the back of each. A headpiece that looked similar to the one worn by Naruto's old captain Yamato appeared, sporting a dark visor to protect his eyes. "Your chakra is now channeled and forced through the flight system, providing propulsion via the thrusters on your boots and the secondary thrusters on your back and thigh armor. The gauntlets are used to help with pitch, yaw and roll, just like that Ironman movie we watched a few weeks ago. Also, you have a headpiece that deploys in this mode, allowing you to see airspeed, a standard HUD with a decent targeting computer and a com system. Since your chakra is powering the flight systems your jutsu usage should be extremely limited while your flying for now, but I think you have a few things you can use to make up for that, right?"

Naruto grinned as he remembered the movie they had watched, the ability to fly had eluded him for a long time but with this... well, a ninja cheats all the time right? 'I'll just look at it as making use of what's available in this period of time, but I still think I can figure it out... eventually.'

A final push to the controls and multiple armored sections appeared, causing the suit to be an entirely enclosed unit and gain a significant amount of bulk. The boot thrusters were still there but the thing that caught Naruto's attention was the fully enclosed helmet that sported a v shaped red visor. "And finally, if you ever find yourself in a situation where your in outer space we've got you covered! This is EV mode and it will deploy automatically if a sudden drop in pressure is detected. It's good for six hours of breathable atmosphere, but we both know if your somehow thrown into outer space you probably won't be there that long. Same limitations on chakra usage I'm afraid, you'll just have to show that amazing adaptability and creativity again. Plenty of time to get in, do your job and get out. And I still say you should let me put some weapons on this thing, it's just dying for a plasma cannon or two, not to mention a full spread of mini missiles!"

Naruto sighed as he looked back at his excited girlfriend, a pleading look on his face. "Hime, I seriously think the two of you are over reacting, I mean I'm sure I can come up with a technique that allows me to fight in outer space without needing all this gear..." Naruto trailed off as Brianna began to glare at him again, causing Naruto to do a complete 180 on his previous statement. " ...but what I really meant to say is that it's amazing and I love it, does it come in orange?"

A triumphant smirk replaced Brianna's angry visage and she shook her head. "Nope, sorry stud, no orange. But, I did cook this up for you. When your in the standard armor mode it'll be available, when your in either flight or EV mode it'll store itself in hyper space." Brianna held the last item she had made and the ecstatic expression of Naruto made it worth the extra effort.

A low beeping noise from a monitor on the wall got Naruto's attention as Brianna pulled up the security camera feed from the front porch. Naruto grinned as he saw that Penny was standing at the front door, waiting to be let in. Rubbing his hands Naruto waggled his eyebrows at Brianna and grinned. "Oh, lemme go get her, I got the perfect way to do it." Brianna giggled , nodded, and a moment later Naruto disappeared in a flash. Watching the monitor, Brianna burst out in laughter as Naruto appeared behind Penny and slowly snuck up on her, his arms raised and poised to grab the unsuspecting girl in a bear hug. Turn on the microphone so she could hear what happened, Brianna was rewarded with a scream of fright as Naruto struck, his strong arms trapping her as the pair disappeared from the front porch and flashed back into the armory. Penny continued to scream loudly until she saw Brianna laughing her head off as she held her stomach. Turning around she was met by the smirking face of Naruto as he gave a two finger salute and then disappeared in a flash. Penny's eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she turned back towards Brianna and furiously pointed at the spot Naruto had just vacated.

"Did he just... wait a minute, what the hell is going on here!?"

* * *

Gina and Brittany continued to sort through the disaster that was once Gina's lab, finding several items that managed to survive the attack and placing them to the side. Moments later Penny burst into the destroyed lab, advancing on Gina with a manic look in her eyes "Penny? What the heck happened to you?"

Penny stood in front of Gina and took several deep breaths as Brianna entered the room and leaned against the door jamb, content with watching events unfold. "Gina, your boyfriend...what the heck is he? Cause I know the teleportation he just used on me was not magic, it had a completely different vibe to it and there was no incantation! Brianna won't tell me a thing and I'm seriously freaking out here!" Gina grinned at turned her focus on Brianna, who shrugged in response to her unvoiced question.

"He was probably bored. You know how he gets when that happens." Just as Gina was about to answer Penny's question, a disembodied voice decided to add it's two cents to the conversation.

"I wasn't bored, I just felt it was time to get Penny back for what she tried to pull at Taco Hut." Gina grinned as she placed the plasma torch she was using on the ground and crossed her arms under her breasts.

"Naru, you know your not supposed to scare my friends. None of them know who you really are yet. Now come out and apologize to Penny." A sigh echoed across the room and Penny looked towards the shadowed ceiling where the voice was coming from, wondering what would happen next. A moment later a hand landed on her shoulder and Penny screamed as she jumped towards Gina, causing the young genius to laugh as her previous rival clung to her in fear. Naruto grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head as he faced the frightened girl. "Naru! Bad shinobi, bad! Penny, ignore the man-child for a moment and I'll answer your question. You remember all those legends we found around the world regarding a lost continent, specifically the ones about a hidden village named Konoha?"

Penny looked at Gina in confusion for a moment and nodded slowly. "Yeah, some kind of hidden militaristic village on the continent known as Mu... but, there's no geological evidence of a lost continent where it was rumored to have been located..."

"That's true but forget about that part for now. Do you remember what kind of people were said to inhabit the village?" Gina grinned as she saw Penny focusing on her memories of her multiple expeditions and the scarce info both of them had encountered in regards to Konoha. Moments passed as Gina's once rival put together all the pieces that Gina had laid out before her regarding Naruto and a look of amazement began to grow on Penny's face. The shock of the revelation caused Penny to fall backwards on her ass, completely speechless at the latest twist presented to her. "Oh... my... god... who are you?"

Naruto walked towards the stunned Penny, crouching down in front of her and grinned at the shell shocked girl. "Uzumaki Naruto, time lost Sage of Konoha. I was selected to become the 6th Hokage before I disappeared due to an... accident. Nice to finally meet you."

* * *

After Naruto's revelation of who he was, everyone had relocated to the living room upstairs and Penny had been provided with the short version of Naruto's little sealing mishap and arrival at the Digger's home. After Gina finished the story Penny was literally bouncing on her feet at the implications. "Gina, this is a huge discovery! How come you haven't told anyone about it yet? At the very least the Explorers Society should be notified!"

Gina shook her head and looked at Naruto pointedly before responding to Penny. "Naruto's the last of his kind, I'm not making him into some kind of side show attraction just to get credit for discovering that Konoha actually existed, especially since it appears to be missing with no way to get there. Besides, I want him all to myself, I'm ok sharing with my sister but I ain't sharing with the society, if word got out that he existed then they would be all over him, especially all the ninja that are members." Gina grabbed Naruto's arm possessively and sandwiched it between her breasts, causing the young man in question to blush lightly.

Penny narrowed her eyes at Gina and smirked. "Fine, I give up, I won't try and convince you to announce this earth shattering discovery. Anyways, I came by because I have a few things that may interest you. I heard about your lab, I'm sorry that it got destroyed by Peachbody but I think this may help." Penny handed over a security card and a key, causing Gina to look at the items quizzically. "These will let you access my lab at the beach. It should have everything you need to get your own lab sorted out. Brittany over there was kind enough to offer a deal, your access to the lab for personal lessons to turn Charlotte into a bodyguard." Brittany grinned and gave her sister a big thumbs up, Gina's expression turning into one of quiet amazement at the thought her sister put into the gesture.

"Also, it's on of the locations where I have been working on a new hyperdrive together with the Atlanteans, we've got everything all set for the trip to Aebra. They've created a hull for us to use and final components are being installed as we speak. We will be prepping and launching from Atlantis tomorrow morning so don't be late, ok?" A quick hug between scientists and Penny was out the door, leaving Naruto and his girls to calm down a ecstatic Brittany once she realized they were ready to getting Stripe back. After they managed to get Brittany somewhat relaxed, the group got some take out so everyone could relax and they all decided to make an early night of it, anxious to get going on their impending rescue mission.

End Initial 24 hour flashback

Naruto purred loudly in his chest as he held Gina in his arms and Brianna wrapped her arms around his neck from behind him. The trio sat on the roof until the sun rose fully, shining brilliantly in the early morning, signaling the beginning of a new day. "Ok girls, time to go and wake up Brittany, it's time to get ready to leave. Next stop, Atlantis"

Meanwhile, in the Aebra system

Stripe stood on the bridge of El Dorado, gazing upon the star system that contained his home planet, Aebra. It seems that someone had expected trouble to come knocking on said star system and prepared accordingly, a Dynasty outpost had been setup as a type of 'guard dog', not only to attack anyone trying to enter the system but also to warn the main forces on Aebra about the upcoming visitors. Stripe rubbed his chin in thought as he saw several fighters patrolling around the outpost, something about the situation seemed off to the young prince.

"Well Stripe, it appears that the Dynasty has not regained it's monstrous iron clad might after it's return to our galaxy." Jan commented as she continued to man the sensor station on the main bridge, sounding relived that El Dorado appeared to have caught a lucky break.

"Jan, use a magnetic graviton pulse to scan the local area, I have a bad feeling about this."

Jan nodded and activated the pulse wave, moments later the display that had appeared to be promising for the returning Kryn became a much greater worry. Multiple ships that appeared to be cloaked appeared on the screen, causing Stripe to cross his arms over his chest and sigh.

"Battle stations."

Back on Earth

Naruto had been the first to reach the car, meaning he finally got to drive it again. This of course started an argument at who would sit shotgun with him but this was resolved in a time honored tradition, one that had been used for centuries to settle these types of arguments. Moments later Brittany was jumping in joy, having won the challenge handily. "HAH! Scissors beats paper girls! I get shotgun with my buddy Naruto, into the back with the two of ya!"

Naruto grinned as his girlfriends began to grumble softly from the back seat. Activating the car Naruto raised it in the air, pointed it towards the Atlantic and hit the gas, sending the group on their first step towards Aebra.

"So Cheets, I bet you can tell me all kinds of stories about Gina and her adventures that she hasn't shared with me yet."

Back with El Dorado

Stripe watched anxiously as El Dorado continued it's assault on the forward outpost they had encountered. Resistance was heavy but the city ship was holding it's own, despite the fact they no longer had shields (Bad Brit!) and their main weapons had been destroyed during their landing on earth several thousand years ago. Just as things were looking up an alarm sounded that send Jan into a panic.

"Hull breach in sector 2-A! Internal sensors show... we have been boarded!" Stripe's eyes narrowed as he pulled out his personal com, his eyes never leaving the view screen that had switched to the corridor where several members of the Dynasty were gathering in as he communicated with his chief of security and current head priestess.

"Captain Taris, we have some uninvited guests aboard our city. Rally the men and cut off sector 2-A, no one gets in or out. Jazelle, I also want some acolytes to assist us in case there are any... surprises that we encounter. I will meet you all there and we will see what can be done about this... Dynasty of Stars."

* * *

Stripe made his way to the entrance of sector 2-A and several of the men blocking off the corridor follow him. Moments before the group entered the corridor a pair of acolytes appeared, having run the entire way of their labored breathing was any indication. Stripe halted his group, giving the panting pair a moment to catch their breath. "Take a moment to catch your breath, I need you both to use your powers to divine the location of our target." Stripe's mind wandered for a moment, wondering how Brittany was doing on earth at this moment. 'Well, at least she's safe.'

Meanwhile, in the car

Gina was shaking in fury as she aimed a high powered pistol at her smirking sister that was sitting beside Naruto, her anger was so great it was as if it was rolling off of the young woman in almost palpable waves. "Brittany, utter one more word and I will not be held accountable for my actions! How dare you tell Naruto embarrassing stories about me!" Brittany grinned evilly as Brianna wrestled the weapon from Gina's hands and turned her attention back to Naruto.

"So, like I was saying, back in the sixth grade..."

Naruto sighed, knowing this was going to be a long trip. 'But, the stories are good blackmail material, thanks Cheets. I will use them at every opportunity... I mean, only in the most dire of situations.'

Back on El Dorado

Stripe stopped for moment, wondering what that chill he felt run down his spine was about. 'Maybe I should have brought Brittany with me, then I could have kept my eyes on her.' As Stripe and his entourage entered sector 2-A the young prince turned to the acolytes "Well, any luck locating our quarry?"

The more senior of the acolytes, Roleya turned to the Prince and nodded. "Yes my lord, I have located them... they are RIGHT HERE!"

Faster than anyone could react Roleya's arm lashed out, her fingers stiffened as she stabbed them into Stripe's stomach. As Stripe fell to his knees the form of Roleya ripped her hand free, shimmered for a moment and a faceless woman appeared, one who began to study the blood now staining her hand. Stripe's guards and the remaining acolyte were frozen in shock at the scene in front of them.

"Alas, the Prince of the Kryn is no more, slain brutally before even setting foot on his home world. You should feel honored, young prince. Only the most dangerous or feared are given a swift death at my hands."

Stripe held a hand over the bleeding hole in his abdomen and glared at the assassin as a trail of blood leaked out of the corner of his mouth. "I-I'm going to guess yo-you're Rielda, assassin of the Dynasty?"

The now identified Rielda placed a hand on her hip as she turned to the dying prince. "Hmm, I see my legend has... wait, this is wrong... you have no shadow!" Looking at the ground Rielda saw the pool of forming blood but Stripe was not casting any type of shadow. A sudden presence behind the assassin had her spinning around, her clawed hands tearing through the wall where she had felt the new arrivals.

"Ah, my apologies assassin, but you weren't even close to hitting me. I had hoped to resolve this peacefully, but it appears you have left me no choice. Everyone, stay back, this is my fight." His piece said there was a rippling effect behind Rielda and two people appeared. Stripe along with Jazelle stood facing the would be killer of El Dorado's leader, causing the now cornered Rielda to growl in anger. Stripe launched himself towards Rielda, ready to defeat the intruder when she began to move, catching Stripe off guard at how fluid she was, as if she were dancing instead of fighting and the power she wielded as every surface she touched shattered on impact. As soon as an opening appeared Stripe moved in, intent on ending the fight quickly, but his instincts were crying out to him to not touch this woman! As his fist stopped short of the assassin's face the surprise she felt was reflected in her stance.

"Is something wrong young prince? Why do you not strike me? Have you given up all hope?"

Stripe narrowed his eyes as he stood, finally realizing what was happening. "Hmm, you truly are a superb assassin. Your disguise field allows you to reach and target and once you have your very touch is death. You're using a kinetic disruption field, a weapon powered by your very movements. Anything that you touch or that even touches you is destroyed. Clever, very clever, but it won't be enough to stop me." Rielda lunged forward, her hand thrust towards the determined Stripe. Raising his right arm, the bracer on the prince's arm sparked momentarily and a sphere of white light rapidly formed directly in Rielda's path. The moment the assassin touched the sphere in her path she was violently thrown back, causing Rielda to shake her head in annoyance. Stripe took up a ready stance as soon as the sphere disappeared, a smirk settling on his face. Rielda hissed as she lunged forward once more but Stripe was ready for this, dodging the wild attack and creating another sphere directly behind his opponent and with an amazing show of agility the Kryn Prince did a back flip directly over his opponent, placing himself in her path once more and depositing another sphere in front of her. Rielda's eyes widened as she was thrown back into the first sphere that Stripe had just created, now the once feared assassin was doing an excellent impression of a ping pong ball, bouncing back and forth between the two spheres of light and showing no signs of stopping any time soon.

"Telekinetic spheres. By myself I would be hard pressed to defeat a member of the dynasty, but I carry that which your kind fears greatly, ancient artifacts that were created for a singular purpose, to fight against your kind and allow the bearer to triumph! One of the several artifacts I wield created these spheres for me and as we can see, they work wonders against an opponent that employs a Kinetic disruption field." Stripe stood over the defeated assassin when her kinetic disruption field lost power, depositing the disoriented woman to the ground.

"Stripe, what will we do with her? I have a feeling that our normal brig would not be able to contain Rielda for very long." Jazelle stepped forward, ready to assist her prince if the apparently defeated assassin so much as breathed incorrectly.

"Worry not, I think I have a solution to our problem." Stripe was about to raise his hands to his crown when he felt a trio of new presences behind him.

"I am afraid I will have to stop you, Stripe'Gia. Mother, your claim on the Prince is now null and void at your loss, we are leaving." As Stripe tried to activate his crown and change the invading Dynasty members into stone statues they all vanished, as if they had never been aboard at all. Stripe fell to a knee, the stress of using his artifacts finally taking their toll on the man. Stripe pulled his com device out, wanting an update on the situation.

"Jan, what's happening with the battle with the Dynasty outpost?"

"Well Stripe, while you were tracking down the intruders, the fighters we had been fighting pulled back, allowing us to pass the cordon. We are now on our way to the interior of the Aebra system, we should reach your home world in approximately 12 hours." Stripe sighed as he cut the channel and tried to stand, nearly falling forward before he was caught by Jazelle and one of his guards.

"Stripe, you have barely slept these last few weeks, we will inform you of any changes, as head priestess I am ordering to you your quarters to sleep. We will need your strength when we reach Aebra, your no good to your people if your dead on your feet." Stripe looked at Jazelle and grinned softly, nodding his head as he was helped back to his room to rest.

Back on Earth

Naruto kept a tight leash on his laughter lest it burst forth and ruin the tenuous peace in the car. After Gina escaped Brianna's grip twice she had finally been tied up by the half were cheetah and left to stew in her seat. Brittany had simply grinned evilly and said one ting to her bound sister. "Payback for all the time's we've almost gotten flattened on those crazy expeditions of yours sis. Now, behave, we're almost there."

Naruto chuckled as he maneuvered the now submerged car towards their final destination, Atlantis. A flashing light on the car's control panel caught his attention and he triggered the com system. "Unidentified vehicle, identify yourselves."

"This is Ginamobile Mark VIII, requesting clearance to land. Princess Tyr should be expecting us." A terse reply to land in docking bay one was Naruto's only answer as he followed the instructions. As soon as the car touched down both Brittany and Brianna leapt out of the car, stretching their sore muscles from a 8 hour car ride. Naruto jumped out and was about to walk away when he heard a voice that stopped him cold.

"Aren't you FORGETTING someone, dear?" Naruto chuckled nervously, as several technicians that were in the landing bay tried to hold in their laughter at the scene before them. Naruto turned back towards the car and the bound form of his other girlfriend. Gina had a very annoyed expression plastered on her face as she gave Naruto the look. Naruto reached into the car and grabbed hold of the ropes used to incapacitate Gina and used them to haul her out of the car. Putting her over his shoulder Naruto continued walking towards Brianna and Brittany without a care in the world, even though he could almost feel the anger rolling off of Gina again. "Naruto... UNTIE ME, NOW."

"If you promise not to kill, maim, assault, attack or injure your sisters in anyway, I'll let you go. After all, we need them for the mission... now, afterwards, they're fair game. Do we have a deal?" Gina kept her head held high for several moments before giving in, all the anger in fight she had replaced by resignation.

"Fine, I give up. Just let me out of these ropes, they're starting to chafe." Naruto grinned and set Gina down on her feet and quickly freed her, cutting the rope with a kunai. Gina sighed and massaged her wrists for a moment then squeaked in surprise as Naruto pulled her close to him and kissed her hard, his arms wrapping around her waist as she squeaked in embarrassment at the show they were providing to their audience. Moments later Gina's eyes slowly closed as she got more in the mood and her arms wrapped around Naruto's neck, deepening the kiss as she ran the tip of her tongue against his lips, demanding entry. Naruto made a purring sound in his chest as he gave in, both young people not caring about anything else other than each other in this moment. Several minutes later Naruto and Gina broke apart, panting as they held each other in their arms. Naruto grinned and cupped Gina's cheek, the now calm scientist closed her eyes as she nuzzled against it and moaned softly. A click and a flash from behind the pair woke them from their content state, causing the pair to turn towards Brianna and Brittany. Both girls were grinning at them in victory, a camera in a smirking Brianna's hands.

"Wow, mom is going to love that one! But I dunno how dad will react to it... heheheheh." Naruto narrowed his eyes at Brianna and stalked towards her, grabbing the camera before she had a chance to dodge and tossed it to Gina. Naruto then grabbed Brianna and began to kiss her as well, making the previously smirking girl lean into him as if her legs had given out on her. After the pair separated Naruto give her firm ass a light slap, causing the young woman in his arms to jump and giggle.

"Now now, no telling your dad about what happens between the three of us, remember? So, lets go see Penny's ship, we need to go and get Stripe." Releasing Brianna the blonde shinobi walked past Brittany and entered to complex, leaving 3 surprised women behind him. Brittany crossed her arms under her breasts and smirked at her two currently zoned out sisters.

"And you say that I'm too crazy about my man? Well, at least I know you girls have found the right one for you, he's one in a million. Now come on, after that display I need some loving as well so we need to get a move on and find my muffin!"

* * *

Penny was hunched over her computer station, working on the last details that needed to be resolved before the ship she and the Atlanteans had designed could be launched. "The thrice damned holo force field system is still lagging! I hate patching tech between different systems like this!"

"Well Gina is here, I'm sure she can get the two different system's to 'play nice' together."

"Oh, that's great, thanks for letting...me..." Penny trailed off as she looked over her shoulder at the grinning face of Naruto, who she had no clue had snuck up on her. One scream later and Ace came barreling out of a side chamber, wondering what had happened to his girlfriend. The scene that met his gaze caused him to step back a moment, completely confused at what he saw. Penny had her arms around Naruto and was spinning him around like he was a stuffed toy, switching between talking a mile a minute and giggling insanely. Just as Ace was about to step in and stop his girlfriend from... doing whatever she was doing a hand gripped his shoulder and stopped him. Looking over his shoulder Ace's eyes widened at the fact an exact copy of Naruto was stopping him from moving.

"S'ok, she's just geeking out about the fact she's getting to see a shadow clone for the first time. She should be calming down right about... now." True to Naruto's declaration Penny stopped spinning the clone around and began to examine him more closely. Looking back at Ace, Naruto grinned at his surprised expression. "What? Didn't your girlfriend tell you? I'm a super power shinobi from a legendary land from the past, I make any and all current ninja's look like toddlers."

"Oh... s'cool bro." Naruto blinked in surprise then grinned, giving the pilot a one armed man hug.

"HAH! You're the first person to instantly accept that! You're awesome man, I can see we're going to get along just fine." Naruto grinned as the Diggers finally caught up and saw the scene in front of them. Gina walked towards Penny and gave her a light hip check to move her further away from the clone she was examining.

"Penny, that is an exact copy of my boyfriend, right down to the memories he has. So hands off, he's still mine... and Brianna's." Penny chuckled as she turned back to her terminal and entered several commands.

"Well, now that your all here, ready to see our ride?" At several excited nods Penny entered the final command and the room was bathed in brilliant lights, showing them the previously hidden ship. It was a sleek design, similar in design to a SR-71 but much more futuristic. Brittany and Brianna both looked at the ship in awe and were not afraid to voice their impressions.

"WOW! Awesome!"

"OOOOO! AHHHH!"

Gina grumbled as she leaned against Naruto, impressed by the ship but not by how her sister's were reacting. "Brit has never Oooed or Ahhed at any of my inventions before... and is Brianna trying to say I'm not awesome?" Naruto grinned and kissed the top of Gina's head as she voiced her annoyances.

"S'ok Hime, I think you're awesome. And your inventions always impress me." Gina closed her eyes and snuggled in a bit closer to her man as Penny continued her explanation on the craft.

"Everyone, feast your eyes on the Visigoth, the first hyperdrive equipped ship from Earth! With this baby we should be able to reach Aebra in about 24 hours and once we're there that's where this baby can really show what it's made of! It's sub-light speed engines are a new design of mine that give it a huge edge in speed, this added to the maneuverability of the ship make it as deadly as any advanced tactical fighter in the world... WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!" Everyone followed Penny's gaze as the original Naruto began leaping towards the vertical craft, stopping as he stood on the nosecone of the ship. Crouching down there was a brief flash of light and Naruto made his way back towards the group, a clearly annoyed Penny looking at Naruto expectantly for answers.

"It's ok, I didn't damage the ship at all, I just wanted to add a little... insurance policy." Penny kept her gaze on the blonde shinobi as she continued her lecture on the new craft.

"As I was saying, all of these features combined with the weapons I received from Brianna yesterday makes the Visigoth one of the most deadly ships I have ever seen. There is just one problem that needs to be fixed and your the perfect person to fix it Gina. The ship uses a holographic force field projector, but since I optimized it to run on the Visigoth it's been running like a dog. I thought since your an expert with A.I. algorithms you'd be able to find out what's causing the issue." Gina took the offered tablet, looked at the info for a moment then gave Naruto a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Be right back Naru, this shouldn't take too long." As Gina exited the launch bay to begin the process of resolving the issue with the holo systems, Naruto walked forward and stood beside the only other male in attendance, idly noticing Brittany walk out of the bay, presumably to see what her sister was up to.

"So, you can fly startships too huh? Is there anything you can't fly?" Ace shrugged as he took a drink from a can of pop, his free hand holding up a similar can for Naruto. The blonde grinned, took the proffered can and took a long gulp, the cold liquid hitting the spot. As Penny continued to talk about the limitations of the craft Naruto glanced at Ace from the corner of his eye. "So, you and Penny huh? She seems like a handful." Ace grinned as he also looked at Naruto from the corner of his eye.

"Hah, like you're one to talk dawg, chillin with both G and Bri, that's gotta be a mess an' a half my man." Naruto laughed loudly and crushed the now empty can, throwing it into the nearby waste can with perfect aim.

"For any normal guy, sure, but remember, solid clones. I'll let you make your own assumptions about that." Naruto patted the man lightly on the shoulder and walked toward Brianna, holding her from behind as Penny finished talking about the ship. Ace looked at the man and could only think one thing.

"Damn, lucky bastard."

* * *

Just as Naruto was walking towards the girls. Penny was pointing towards a darkened corner of the launch bay. Everyone not occupied(Gina and Brit) turned and saw a multicolored robot make it's way towards the group. As the robot drew closer Naruto's eyes widened, his senses telling him that there were lifeforms inside of the unit before the group... but it was even shorter than Gina, how could there be multiple lifeforms in such a small robot?

"Hullo laddies and lasses! We be the last part of the assault force that ye be needin for this venture! Lads, let's be showin'em th' goods! Reconfiguration!" A mechanical 5 beat tone was heard and the robot separated into... 5 shoes? Penny sighed as she shook her head at the incredulous expressions everyone wore.

"I was commissioned last year to build a prototype robot for the leprechaun nation, they were in the process of creating a highly specialized combat team known as the Vaultron Force. They wanted a robot that could reconfigure parts of itself into the assorted shoes you see here. I still for the life of me can't figure it out though... why would they want me to design them to look like shoes?" Penny rubbed her chin as everyone looked at her as if she had grown another head. "Oh come on, stop looking at me like that! It was a rough year, I had to do something to make ends meet!"

Naruto crouched down and looked at the assembled footwear in confusion. "A high top shoe, a ballet slipper, a combat boot, a... flipper? That's not even a shoe! And a slipper? Come on, calling them all shoes is a real stretch of the imagination Penny." Just as Naruto finished speaking a hatch at the rear of the ballet slipper flipped open and a small form hauled itself out of the mechanical slipper, gasping for air.

"Damn ye McKeith! I be needin some AC in there, that slipper be a sauna!" Naruto leaned forward until he was an inch from the small woman that appeared out of the slipper, his blue eyes unblinking as he studied the being in front of him.

"Sorry bout the question... but what exactly is a leprechaun?" The small weight appearing on Naruto's shoulder didn't faze him, but the three inch blade resting lightly on his jugular did. Looking over Naruto saw another leprechaun, one dressed as a stereotypical ninja holding a sword at his neck. 'Dammit, now I'm cursed with midget shinobi wannabe's! Damn you karma, this is to balance things out because I'm so kick ass ain't it? Well, fuck you too!'

"I'd advise you to step back from the Princess big man, or me boyo there could be lettin his hand slip and we'll be havin a wee mess on our hands." Naruto looked over at the apparent leader, another leprechaun with a four leaf clover on the left breast of his uniform and a truly awesome beard. Narrowing his eyes in irritation Naruto glared at the leader then smirked.

"Really? Well, Mckeith was it? I think we'll see about that." Once his last word was uttered, Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke, causing the leprechauns to all look around themselves cautiously while the ninja leprechaun picked himself off the floor. Brianna sighed and looked over at Penny.

"You know, as much as I love the guy, I seriously think he has a problem. Every time we meet someone claiming to be a ninja he does this. Please tell Naruto these guys are allies or this could get messy."

"Relax Hime, I'm not going to educate them like I was with Daishi. I'm just going to... assess them. After all, I am the tactical commander of this mission so I need to know what they can do." Each piece of the Vaultron force combined again to form the powerful looking robot from earlier. As the gestalt scanned the large launch bay it's right arm lashed out, grabbing a kunai before it could hit the joint in it's arm the weapon had been aimed at.

"Oh ho! So you do have some skill I see! But, I'd throw that away if I were you, the explosive tag is about to go off." Vaultron quickly tossed the kunai into the air, throwing it's arm over the head module as a bright flare blinded it's optic sensors. Naruto dropped down from the ceiling and waded in, using taijutsu to test the unit's speed, strength, agility and adaptability. Naruto's initial look of superiority slowly changed to one of surprise and then admiration as the gestalt was able to keep up with him trading blows back and forth and managing to block or dodge a large number of Naruto's hits. Sliding back form a powerful exchange of blows, the Vaultron team and Naruto stared at each other from opposite sides of the launch bay and at the same time both beings made their move. Vaultron launched themselves towards Naruto, who after a moment held up his hand and was holding a spinning blue orb of energy before he raced towards his current foe.

"Faith and begorrah, he be a shadow dancer! Pink Heart, Yellow Star, form Blazin' Shillelagh, now!" The Vaultron gestalt's hands slammed together as they rocketed towards Naruto and as they pulled apart they formed a blazing cudgel of energy that was brought up to meet Naruto's attack. Naruto's eyes widened at the motion then a wide grin settled on his face as he slammed his rasengan into the newly formed weapon. Leprechaun magic battled against shinobi chakra and the results were equally impressive as a massive explosion of energy sent both fighters sprawling to the far sides of the launch pad again.

Both combatants slowly stood, gazed at each other for a moment, then stalked towards each other. As the pair stood face to face, Naruto's stern visage didn't move an inch as he held out his fist towards Vaultron. A moment later Vaultron did the same and both combatants... bumped fists before nearly collapsing in laughter. Naruto continued to laugh as he put his arm around the automaton's shoulders and grinned at his stunned friends. "Awesome, these guys are the real deal. Makes me feel safer working with people I can trust. How about you guys, do my skills pass your little test?"

"Aye laddie, we be knowing the pecking order around these parts for sure now, don't we team?" At the chorus of agreements Naruto walked over to a shell shocked Penny and Brianna and grinned at their expressions.

"Ah come, it's nothing to worry about. Ace, tell'em man, if you had to work with someone that was supposed to be as good a flier as you and that person assumed he had command, wouldn't you want to make sure he could actually out fly you or at least keep up?" Both girls looked over at Ace, waiting for him to agree or disagree. Ace looked at Naruto with a look of betrayal, but the man refused to leave a bro hangin.

"That's exactly what'd happen dawg. It's a guy thing, sorry girls it's just what we do." Brianna looked at Penny, Penny looked at Brianna and both girls immediately marched towards the entrance of the launching bay. Just as they were about to exit Gina and Brittany appeared, a victorious smile on the young genius' face as she held up the tablet she had been given earlier.

"I'm all done with the force... what the heck happened here? What did we miss?" Penny and Brianna each grabbed a girl to describe the situation that had occurred. Ace glanced over at Naruto and winced.

"Man, you are in so much shit for that stunt you just pulled! I hope you got a way outta this man cause it's gonna take some serious sucking up to fix this." Naruto sighed as he put his hands on his hips, wondering if he would ever understand women.

_**'I doubt you ever will.'**_

Naruto's eyes widened as he focused on his mindscape, immediately standing before the crystalline structure that was holding in Kurama, positive that he had heard his partner cracking a joke at his expense. Just this morning when he had checked the seal mechanism there were still two more rings to go. But now, one ring was gone and the last had almost completely cycled through, only a few sections remained of the final ring, allowing more of Kurama's energy to seep through to his chakra coils and apparently letting him have an idea of what was happening. Naruto placed his hands on the seal and concentrated for a moment, trying to understand what had caused the drastic change. A moment later and Naruto grinned, patted the remainder of the final ring and left his mindscape, much happier about the situation than when he had heard his partner's voice.

'I'll have to thank the Vaultron force for that fight, the blast of magic when their cudgel hit the rasengan somehow managed to cut the time to releasing Kurama by a significant margin. Who knows, if we run into anything crazy out there I may just be able to introduce them to my partner... and the dangers of trying to piss us off.'

Exiting his mindscape Naruto turned back to the Vaultron force and cocked his head to the side as he looked at them. "Mckeith, I need a word with you, walk with me." A small door opened up and the Vaultron force's leader jumped down and the pair walked towards the far edge of the landing bay while Ace looked on quizzically, wondering what was going on. A few minutes later the pair returned and Naruto helped his height challenged ally back into his portion of the Vaultron gestalt, the silence between the two further confusing Ace. At Ace's inquiring glance, Naruto smiled and nodded his head, showing that everything was alright. "Now that we've resolved that issue, I just need to survive the onslaught of Hurricane Gina and Tsunami Brianna... this is gonna take some fast talking." A sudden idea of inspiration came to Naruto and he tapped out a sequence on a small pad he had been given by Brianna. Moments later his newly designed armor appeared and attached itself to his body, proudly displaying the symbol of Konoha on his chest. Ace looked at the man in confusion and Naruto merely said, "Well, they made it so it should make them happy I'm using it... but on the off chance that negotiations fail some extra layers of armor between me and them wouldn't be a bad idea."

1 hour later

Naruto had managed to smooth things over with the girls... somehow, and final preparations were underway to launch the Visigoth. As the final checks were made, Princess Tyr watched the group of her friends enter the bridge of the ship and sighed. Garen watched in interest as the Princess fretted while she stood out of the way of several technicians. Standing beside his lady, Garen leaned closer so that only she could hear his words. "Princess Tyr, why don't you want to see them off in person? If I didn't know better, I'd say you were avoiding the heroes of Atlantis."

"You know me too well Garen. I... I feel ashamed that all I can do is send them off to rescue Eldorado in it's time of peril, while I stay her safe with my people. They risk their lives for their friends, as we should as well."

Garen sighed as he looked his Princess in her eye and grinned. "My lady, we have done our part, if we had not then this would not have been possible. We have given them the doorway and key to their adventure, but it is they who would argue that we should leave this to them. Be that as it may, I have a feeling that we may yet be able to assist our friends."

Moments later the Visigoth was launched from the bay, a pillar of fire the only evidence that the ship had even been there. Princess Tyr sent a final prayer for a safe return out to any being that was listening, placing her trust in her friends that they would come back.

On the Visigoth

Naruto grinned from his seat in the back, looking over at his neighbor to his right. Gina on the sensor station was making her final checks and ahead of him Brianna was manning the weapons station. Naruto had a kunai out and was spinning it around on his hand, the flashing metal never cutting his skin or flying free as he used his chakra to keep a tight lease on the deadly tool. Looking towards the front of the bridge Naruto could almost see the glee rolling off of Ace as he punched the engines, pushing everyone back in their seats as the G forces climbed rapidly.

"KEVIN, SLOW DOWN!" Ace grinned as he increased their speed again, sending the Visigoth into the upper atmosphere and blackness of space at over five thousand kph. Once the planet's gravity relinquished it's hold on the ship Ace turned to Penny and flashed her a grin.

"Sorry Penny, what did you say?" Penny silently glared at her boyfriend as she decided what to say to him. Finally deciding to let the matter go she addressed the ragtag crew of the ship.

"Never mind, 'Ace', now that the inertial dampeners are working we can make our way to the hyper space jump point, I'm sending you the... wait, what's that noise?" A banging sound could be heard from a compartment in the aisle, causing everyone to look at the panel in worry. Penny finally screwed up the courage to check and see what the problem was and as the panel rose she pointed her finger directly into the face of Charlotte.

"CHARLOTTE?! I told you to stay behind, this is way too dangerous! Wait... where are the supplies that were in here? What did you do with them!?"

Brittany placed her had on Penny's shoulder in an effort to calm her down, seeing the woman start to get frustrated with what was happening. "Penny, it's ok, she wanted to help, so what if we're missing some supplies, they weren't that important were they?" Penny bit her lower lip as she turned towards Brittany, wondering how to break the news to the excitable woman.

"Um, I'll let you decide that... after all, this is where I stored all of the tuna for you and Brianna."

Brianna and Brittany both had looks of pure horror on their faces, which of course caused Charlotte to burst into tears, afraid she had angered the two fishaholics. Both Brianna and Brittany sighed as they looked at each other, then hung their heads in shame. Naruto took pity on the girls and got Charlotte's attention. "Hey Charlie, s'ok, I think the girls are ok on taking a short break from fish, right girls?"

Penny let out a huff in irritation and turned back to her terminal again. "Alright, settle down, we got a long flight ahead of use. Kevin, punch it."

In orbit above Aebra

Stripe leaned over the terminal and focused on the information that his crew had found. "Nothing? Nothing at all?" Turning to his right Stripe saw the saddened expression of Jan as she nodded.

"That's correct Stripe. There are no signs of civilization, no surviving cities at all on our scopes... I'm.. I'm sorry Stripe, it appears that the Dynasty has wiped out all trace of your people... wait... on the horizon, there's a city! Coastal, heavily fortified, it's most likely the capital, but wait... Dynasty forces are advancing on them! They will not be able to withstand the onslaught for long!"

Stripe took a deep breath, steadying himself so that he was prepared to do what must be done. "Jan, take us down into the middle of the city. We will support our kin and drive the Dynasty back, back to the pit from where they crawled out of. Prepared the city for war!"

* * *

Riogen watched as his army advanced on the final bastion of Kryn on the planet, his troops eager to finish the kill and end the assault on the planet. 'Father has orchestrated this war masterfully, allowing the Kryn to retreat to a single point of resistance... a place that will become their tomb should they fail to surrender.'

As the Dynasty Warlords and Gigas' marched forward, Riogen began to feel pity for his enemy, saluting them for their resolve to never surrender. As Riogen watched the outer walls crumble under a vicious barrage of energy blasts, the thunderous sound of a ship rapidly descending from orbit caused the leader of the Dynasty ground forces to look at the newest player on the field, the city ship of El Dorado. A shining beam of light leapt from the rapidly descending ship and Riogen soon saw who was coming to meet him head on.

"Ah, the Prince of the Kryn, your strength must be great to have bested Rielda! Come warrior, there is too much at stake for me to let you pass!" As Riogen leapt skyward towards his prey, the Prince extended his hand in front of him and created a white sphere of energy where both combatants would converge. While the Prince was thrown back into the air, Riogen tsk'ed as he was thrown towards the ground, his momentum broken as Stripe charged another attack.

"Stand aside and I will spare you! Either way I will reach the surface and save my people, by any means necessary!"

'His power and control... astonishing! I have been completely defeated in mere moments. Though I am more sage than warrior this should not be possible. I believe it is time for me to allow those that are more suited to warfare to take the stage and finish what I have started.'

As Riogen began to fade away, Stripe never saw the massive shadow behind him until it was too late. The Gigas raised it's hand and slammed the Prince into a nearby building, stopping him from advancing any further. Stripe's consciousness was fading fast, but a single thought echoed through his mind.,

'Oh man, Brittany is going to kill me when she hears about this.'


	12. Chapter 12

Here we go, some space battling for all of you to enjoy. Hope you enjoy it, leave a review so I know what you think. And yes, I did change around the chapters, combining a few so that would explain why some people couldn't leave a review. If you were one of those people that tried to review and couldn't, sorry bout that.

Chapter 12

Naruto had a tablet out, familiarizing himself with the nuances of the different armor forms his girls had prepared for him. 'As much as I bitched about not needing this armor, I have a feeling it'll be surprisingly useful. Now lets see... huh, no mention of the special modification I wanted Brianna to make to the gauntlets. I better check with her, after all if it's missing then that'd be a bit of a problem.' Unbuckling his safety harness Naruto stood up, stretching for a moment before making his way towards his gun toting girlfriend. Naruto leaned over the back of the seat and grinned as he watched Brianna snoozing contently, tracing the tips of his fingers along her cheek. The movement caused the relaxed woman to giggle in her sleep and Naruto kissed the top of her head, deciding he could wait to have his questions answered.

It had been over twelve hours since the Visigoth had launched and everyone had decided on getting some shut eye, everyone that is except Naruto. Ace had taken several power naps, just enough to keep him sharp, not wanting to be caught flatfooted if there was an emergency. Everyone else had settled in for a long nap, wanting to be fresh for the fight. Naruto walked down the aisle towards Ace, seeing that the man was awake and checking the instruments on his board, verifying that they were still on course. Ace looked over his shoulder and nodded at Naruto as he drew closer, the shinobi stowing the tablet in his pouch when he reached Ace's chair.

"Hey, you shoulda grabbed a wink or two man, it's gonna be rough down there... least that's what my gut says." Naruto sat down in the co pilot chair and turned towards Ace, a smile on his face as he began to speak.

"Bah, I've had worse. Remind me later to tell you the time I stayed up for four days straight during the middle of the Fourth Shinobi war, Baa-chan nearly had be sedated after that for a week... damn, I miss her, lectures and all." Ace's expression changed to confusion as Naruto finished speaking, not understanding what the man had been referring to.

"Baa-chan? What the heck is a Baa-chan?" Naruto laughed softly, careful not to wake the sleeping girls from their slumber.

"Right, I forgot you don't know much of my history. Well, Baa-chan was the leader of my village..." Naruto began to explain the relationship he had with Tsunade, also giving the condensed version of his mishap and final release from the accident he had with the seal array. When he had finished the tale Ace looked at the man in front of him and had only one thing to say.

"Whoa... that's crazy man." Naruto grinned and leaned back in the chair he was using, placing his hands behind his head as he relaxed. Before either man could continue speaking a flashing light on Ace's control panel grabbed the pilot's attention. After Ace checked his instruments he turned back to the shinobi and grinned.

"That's some heavy stuff man, but it looks like we're going to have to wake the ladies, we're almost there, two more hours then we get to kick the door down and bust some heads!"

Meanwhile, on Aebra

The capitol and only remaining city of the Kryn was slowly turning into a pile of ruined buildings, rubble and twisted metal replacing homes, burned out husks that were once places of learning and museums and the markets were empty of both people and products, making the last remaining Kryn city seem sullen, cold and barren. A newly formed crater in the ground contained a single individual, a person that had been one of the last hopes for the endangered race. Stripe groaned as he tried to rise, his injuries stopping him from moving more than an inch. 'My people... my planet... they are both lost now, I couldn't stop them. I have failed...' Looking to the smoke choked sky, Stripe's mind wandered to the initial battle he had on the planet after his arrival.

Flashback

Stripe fought against the creeping darkness that threatened to pull him under, leaving him vulnerable to his enemies. The apparent leader of the Dynasty troops reappeared, balancing on a ruined wall of the building Stripe had been slammed into. The heavily wounded prince could see his beloved home of El Dorado firing on the ground troops, an act that provoked a response from their enemies. The very elements appeared to turn against El Dorado as it was engulfed in a trio of powerful tornado's, the violently rotating columns of air doing their best to pull the ship to the ground, forcing the hovering cityship's engines to fire at full power just to maintain it's position in the air. Stripe watched as his opponent intently watched the endangered city continue to struggle, causing the man to shake his head slowly.

"Still you fight, your bravery and courage are testaments to your race's will to survive, but you only delay the inevitable. The Dynasty's true purpose has always been the safeguarding of life in the universe. We do only what we must to ensure that a greater evil does not plunge our universe into anarchy. If you truly understood what we are attempting to accomplish you would trade your lives, your very souls to allow us to continue on our mission. But, I can see there is no reasoning with your kind any longer and for that, I am sorry."

Stripe attempted to raise himself again but his body betrayed his wishes, his wounds from the Gigas' attack having shattered bones and reduced him to a broken man that could only watch helplessly as the multiple funnels of savage wind tore at his home, slowly succeeding in the inevitable process of dragging the cityship to the ground. Clenching his eyes shut in helplessness, Stripe was ready to surrender to his despair when a soft voice echoed through his mind. The young prince stilled for a moment, recognizing the voice of the person that was trying to reach him, his despair slowly vanishing as a glimmer of hope appeared. 'Jazelle?'

'Stripe...Stripe, please don't give up... The hopes of your people rest on your shoulders!' Cleansing healing energy engulfed Stripe's body, mending bones and filling the Prince with renewed life. Rising to his feet Stripe's determined gaze fell on the unaware commander of the Dynasty troops, his anger against this man having boiled over as the destruction of his people continued. Raising his arms Stripe began to activate his Flame Raker, intent on finishing what he had started.

"Reason? Your kind subjugate all before them with no warning, no explanation and you expect us to roll over and die when you ask? The 'saviors' of the universe know only how to sow death, not protect life! Let me show you how it is done, FLAME RAKER!

Stripe leapt forward, his miraculous recovery surprising his target long enough to connect with the full power of his pyrokenetic strike. Stripe watched as his adversary clutched his wounded chest and faded from sight again but the blast continued on, it's power so great it destroyed a Gigas that was standing behind the commander, reducing the mechanical walker to mere fragments of broken armor. Stripe breathed deeply, sinking to his knees while he caught his breath. 'I...I still can't get the hang of using the full power of these artifacts. I have to be missing someth... oh no.'

Aboard the El Dorado

Jazelle collapsed to her knees, her desperate gamble to try and heal Stripe from this distance had paid off but at the cost of all of her remaining energy. 'It falls to you Stripe, our hopes are riding on your success.'

As the head priestess slowly rose to her feet, El Dorado violently shuddered, the groan of tearing metal causing all that were on the bridge to look at Jan in worry. Jan was rapidly manipulating her controls, a look of fear growing as the shuddering became stronger.

"Jazelle, we have a problem! Those twisters are dragging El Dorado out of the sky and there is nothing I can do to stop them! The ship is going to crash, WE MUST ABANDON THE SHIP!" Everyone looked at Jan for a moment before a loud alarm woke them from their stunned expressions, everyone watching as the ground quickly came closer to the doomed city ship.

Back with Stripe

Stripe shook his head as his home finally succumbed to the vicious elemental assault and crashed into the ground, never to rise again. Stripe's patience had finally been depleted and the now furious Prince stood slowly, watching as a pair of Gigas' advanced towards him.

"I see you truly have no mercy and I am done trying to make peace with a group that refuses to even attempt to listen. Prepare yourselves for my wrath."

End flashback

The enraged Prince had fought for hours, helping his people escape from the advancing army but after hours of constant battle the fight had turned against Strip, his battered and tired body finally giving out on him. 'Well, at least I managed to take some of them with me. I'm sorry Brittany, I couldn't come back to you... but at least your safe. I love you.' Stripe watched as a pair of Gigas' stood above him, several Warlords were holding position in the sky, intent on trapping the Prince before he could escape. Stripe grimaced as he tried to move. His beaten body ignored his commands again and the Prince relaxed, knowing that his end was near. A Gigas raised it's fist, intent on snuffing out Stripe's life with a final blow.

Stripe closed his eyes as the fist descended, but before it could hit a rush of clarity hit Stripe instead, giving him hope that all was not lost. Focusing his will on his artifacts, Stripe screamed as his arm glowed brightly, the Gigas fist blocking this phenomenon from his enemies. As the war machine's appendage hit the ground the remaining forces of the dynasty readied their weapons if Stripe still lived. When the Gigas' hand moved away from the point of impact, the invaders lowered their weapons, seeing the dead body of the Kryn Prince, crushed into the ground and broken beyond any hope of revival.

The Dynasty has won... Stripe'Gia was dead.

Back on the Visigoth

Naruto was checking the rest of his gear, getting the feeling that he wouldn't have time to do so later. Looking over at Brittany Naruto saw her expression and frowned, worried about how she was dealing with this. 'Fiancee goes and runs off to defend a planet that he's never visited, leaves her behind and he may never return to her alive... not to mention he ran out on his own wedding. Oh man, he is in for the beating of his life if he survives.' Pulling himself out of his chair, Naruto walked toward Brittany and placed a hand on her shoulder. The focused were-cheetah jumped slightly and looked up at Naruto with a questioning gaze. Naruto reached into his pouch, producing a tri-bladed kunai and a sheathe for it, holding the offering out towards his friend.

"Cheets, since you wear such tight clothes I had to make this for you, you haven't got anything that could hold the kunai without possibly hurting yourself. Now, if you find yourself in a bind on Aebra, use the kunai and I'll be there in a flash... literally. I don't want you to take any chances, everyone is coming home, understood?" Brittany meekly took the proffered kunai, looked at the weapon then nodded at Naruto as she secured the weapon around her waist. Naruto grinned and ruffled the sombre were-cheetah's hair, causing the woman to ineffectually try and smack the shinobi's hands away form her head. Naruto grinned as he jumped back, sticking his tongue out at the now glaring young woman. Naruto walked back towards the front of the cockpit and stood by Ace, glancing at the controls for a moment. "How much longer till we arrive?"

Ace looked to the controls on his right as he answered the blonde, his attention never wavering from his task. "We got five minutes left. If you got anything you want to say, now's the time man." Naruto looked over his shoulder at the concerned faces of his friends, friends that were afraid of what they would find when they reached Aebra. Turning around, Naruto cleared his throat and got everyone's attention, even the Vaultron Force in the external pod were listening in over the com systems.

"I know your all worried about what is going to happen when we reach Aebra, dozens of situations and thoughts are racing through my head as well at what we may face. But just remember one thing, we are getting Stripe back and dragging his sorry ass back home so he can marry Cheets. I am not letting anything stop me from completing this mission. If you need help, ask for it, if someone needs your help, give it. We are a team... and a team has each others backs. Get ready, things are about to get wild." Naruto grinned as he saw everyone's resolve return, the worries of what may occur had been banished and steely resolve was all that remained.

Ace smirked from his pilot station and grabbed the controls that would drop the ship out of its hyperspace route. Moments later the front viewport was filled with the sight of Aebra... and an entire armada of enemy fighters that was split up and patrolling the planet. They appeared to have not noticed the Visigoth yet, but this could change in an instant. Naruto turned around and headed for cockpit exit, towards the EV chamber that Penny had prepared, Brianna hot on his heels. Before Naruto could leave he was pulled to the side into the arms of Gina, a deep kiss her only message to him. Naruto held the woman in his arms and when the pair separated he rested his forehead against Gina's, enjoying the feeling of being close to her.

"I promise, I will come back. And you know what that means for me. Keep everyone safe." Naruto exited the cockpit, leaving Gina standing as she watched her boyfriend's quick exit and sighed when the doorway slid shut. Turning back to the sensor station Gina's eyes hardened in determination as she sat, intent on making sure she did everything that she could to protect those that she loved and trusting in Naruto to do the same.

* * *

Naruto stood tall in the chamber, ready to summon his EV armor and get this show on the road. As he looked to his left, Naruto watched as Brianna went to open her hyperspace pocket and summon her armor but one look at her hardened expression caused the young man to worry about what may happen to her during the battle. Grinning widely, Naruto threw his arm out and wrapped it around her waist and pulled her towards him, catching her completely off guard. Brianna to look over at her boyfriend in shock that soon turned into happiness as Naruto kissed her, his arms pulling her flush against his body.

Brianna's eyes slid shut, the emotions that Naruto was stirring in her causing the woman to relax as she held the man that she had come to love. Naruto pulled back and grinned at the relaxed expression on Brianna's face, unable to resist kissing her nose. Brianna giggled at the action and squeezed the man in her arms before letting him go, her armor finally appearing and sliding into place on the now relaxed woman.

"Sorry, but you looked way too tense. Now, are you ready?" At Brianna's determined nod Naruto tapped a key on his bracer and his EV suit began to appear, each component locking into place until he was completely enclosed. As the holofield rezzed up and Naruto could again see the chamber he and Brianna were in, the now enclosed shinobi triggered his com network and grinned, seeing that Brianna had already set it up for him. There were four channels in total, one was set for Brianna and the second was set for Vaultron, the third was the main combat squad channel and fourth was the general com channel. "Well, that makes things easier... of course I still have no idea how to work most of this stuff. I have no problem flying this thing, that was easy to pick up... but all the other stuff that I have to run? I better not crash cause I'm not paying attention."

"Of course you won't sir, that is why I am here after all. Also, I believe that speaking towards oneself is an early form of insanity."

"Who the hell just said that?!" A small window opened in the lower left of Naruto's vision and what appeared to be a young woman composed of pure light standing at attention, patiently waiting for Naruto to respond to what she had said. Naruto looked at the image for a moment then growled softly, realizing he had been tricked by Brianna. "I'm assuming your here to help me? So why didn't you say anything earlier?"

"You are correct sir, I am here to assist you and as to why I did not reveal myself, I was instructed to keep my identity hidden by one of my creators, Brianna"

"That little... open channel one, I need to talk with my girlfriend for a moment." As the channel opened up Naruto looked over at Brianna and her madly grinning face, her suit's headpiece having a clear face shield meaning that her expression was not hidden.

"Hey stud, what's up?" Naruto pointed a accusatory finger at Brianna and her grin grew larger if such a thing was possible, the woman having an idea of what was coming.

"YOU SET ME UP! 'Oh, you'll get the hang of it when you start to fly, I'm sure you won't have any problems!' GE T THE HANG OF IT MY ASS! Now what you said make so much more sense! All I can say is... good job!" Brianna lost her tenuous control on her laughter, happy that she had managed to finally pull the wool over Naruto's eyes.

"Well stud, I thought it was time for a little pay back. After all, I can't let you think that I have no skill at pranking people. Meet Yang, a fourth generation A.I that both Gina and myself created. She was custom built for the armor, we needed to use it with yours as the tech is much more advanced, she'll be helping you run all the other systems while you concentrate on flying and fighting. Yang, say hi to Naruto, he's your new operator."

At Yang's formal bow Naruto grinned and shook his head. "So, your going to help me with the functions of the suit, huh? Awesome, glad to have you aboard Yang, I seriously have no idea how to use half of this stuff... that reminds me, Hime did you install what I asked for on the gauntlets?"

Brianna frowned as she nodded, her hand resting on her hip as she look at the armored suit. "I still have no idea why you need a bracket system like that on your gauntlets." Naruto put his empty hand behind his back and when he pulled the hand back in sight Brianna's eyes bore a confused expression, wondering what he held in his hand. Naruto grinned as he asked Yang to open up the bracket system, depositing the items in their new homes.

"Oh, you'll see why when we launch... speaking of which, we better get outside."

* * *

Mckeith reached forward and tabbed a control that activated his com system. "Alrighty, it's time for me and the boyos to see if the patrols we be seein are friendly or not! Vaultron Force, launch!" As the external pod jettisoned from their ride all five of the Vaultron shoes reconfigured, forming the Vaultron gestalt, it's thrust systems sending it towards the nearest patrol craft rapidly. As the team neared the six ships a pair of them broke off and without any warning at all fired on the Vaultron Force. The leprechauns had been prepared for this and maneuvered around the incoming fire, launching a spread of missiles that destroyed the pair of crescent shaped fighters. The remaining four craft immediately homed in on the Vaultron Force, intent on destroying the now hostile mecha. As Vaultron was about to launch more of it's conventional weaponry at the approaching enemies, a powerful beam of energy passed over it's shoulder and impacted with the lead fighter, slicking through it's armor like a hot knife through butter. Looking on his screens, Mckeith grinned as he watched Brianna take up a long range sniping position, another fighter meeting it's fiery death at her precision shooting. Naruto's jet black suit meanwhile rocketed towards the remaining members of the patrol, causing to Mckeith to grin in anticipation. "Alright, stand by team, let's see how Naruto uses his new suit in a fight!"

Naruto's bark of laughter was his only answer he provided Mckeith, his speed increasing as he began to dodge the incoming fire from the remaining pair of starfighters, his ion thrusters pushing the suit faster than the fighters could respond. As Naruto got into melee range he ducked under a final blast of energy, coming up under one of the ships and one brilliant flash of light later Naruto had sliced a wing free, the now crippled fighter spun out of control until it hit a small asteroid in it's path. Naruto the used his flight system to intercept the last bogey, the final fighter tried to turn tail and run but it was too late as Naruto sped up, deploying a second beam of energy from his gauntlets. The shinobi raced forward and landed on top of the fighter, then drove his weapons in to the cockpit, killing the pilot. Naruto fired up his thrusters again and when he was clear a final shot from Brianna destroyed the now out of control fighter, leaving this part of space free for the moment.

"So Vaultron Force, how was that?" Naruto grinned at the holo images of the Vaultron team, the common consensus was awe at what Naruto had just done.

"Faith be, what did ye use to slice through that ship, it looked like there weren't any armor at all!" Naruto grinned as the trio took off towards the now approaching armada, the enemy finally having detected the approaching ship.

"Beam sabers, they were a... gift, from a... friend. Yeah, we'll go with that..."

Flashback

"Ok Naruto, remember those beam sabers of mine that you 'borrowed'? I'm going to need them back." May held her hand out expectantly, waiting for the blonde shinobi before her to return her property.

"Sure thing May, but before I do that there is the small matter of... ah, here it is, your bill." Naruto placed a sheet of paper in May's hand, the time traveling girl looked at the paper in confusion then at Naruto.

"Whattaya mean, bill?!" May looked at the information again and did her best to resist the urge to deck the man in front of her when she read through the list of items and the cost for all of them.

"Well, you did bust through several walls when you entered our home and destroyed several extremely valuable pieces of equipment in the process, not to mention the damage done to the Ginamobile, it was a complete write-off. Plus, the lab damages also were indirectly your fault, you did provide the codes that Peachbody used to access the time craft and that was what caused him to destroyed Gina's lab. So, even though you were tricked into helping Peachbody... you still have to pony up the cash to replace everything that was destroyed."

"WHERE THE HELL AM I GOING TO GET EIGHT HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS!" May crumpled the bill in her hand and took deep breaths as she tried to control her anger.

"Not my problem, you broke the stuff, not me. Now, I could be convinced to look the other way but I would need something in return... say, a pair of beam sabers?" May's jaw dropped and her patience finally shattered, the young woman lunging at Naruto and began to choke him, causing the young man to try and pull her hands from his throat. A moment later Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke and a log appeared, causing May to look around in confusion. The girl finally spotted the grinning face of the man she wanted to throttle standing behind her, waving cheerily.

"I can keep this up all night long. Now, Gina has asked me to handle this situation in the way that I think is best, so just lemme keep the sabers and you walked away without paying a cent, deal?" Naruto hoped the girl didn't call him out on his little fib... after all, he really wanted those beam sabers, they were perfect weapons for him to use!

May screamed in fury and stomped off, catching the attention of Brianna as she passed the fuming girl in the hall. Brianna watched as May stormed out of Mita's home, slamming the door in her anger. Walking into the room that May had just left Brianna saw her grinning boyfriend, walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "What the heck was that all about?" Naruto merely grinned , kissed Brianna quickly and walked out the door, never saying a word about the situation and leaving a very confused Brianna behind.

End flashback

"Gift my ass! That's why May was so pissed off!" Naruto grinned unrepentantly at the annoyed look on Brianna's face and cut the transmission, not wanting to get into an argument with his girlfriend in the middle of a fight. Looking over his shoulder Naruto turned his attention back towards the now approaching armada of ships, ready to continue the fight they had started.

"Well, that's what happens when you try and destroy the home of a shinobi. Kirei, how many ships we looking at here?"

"I count about three hundred ships... and you do know your giving those beam sabers back after this mission, right?" Naruto grumbled as he launched himself towards the approaching ships, knowing that it was a lost cause to argue with the girls when they were adamant about something.

"Fine, I've got point! You two, cover me and take out any ships I disable!" Before Brianna could shout out a chastisement that Naruto was being too reckless, the shinobi had already ramped his flight system up to full power and was pulling away from his comrades. As soon as he got within range his 'borrowed' beam sabers flashed out again, carving through starfighter armor as if it was nothing more than paper, providing perfect shots for Brianna and Vaultron to take the disabled enemies out of the fight permanently. With the sabers attached to his forearms Naruto was able to take full advantage of the flight systems that Brianna and Gina had created... and take advantage he did, his body contorting in ways that nearly made Brianna wince at times. Naruto was like a dervish, never stopping, constantly on the move and after disabling his current opponent he rocketed towards the next, his speed never slowing as he fell into his element, complete and total chaos on the battlefield. A low whistle of admiration from the Vaultron force woke Brianna from her slack jawed staring at her boyfriend's maneuvers, reminding her that she had a job to do. Raising her plasma cannon again Brianna began to thin the oncoming enemies... well, what was left of them anyways. Just as Naruto was about to reach the rear column of fighters a brilliant blast of energy crashed into his armor, sending the shinobi spinning towards his allies. For a moment no one moved, waiting for Naruto to turn around and blast after the energy that had hit him... but when he failed to move the remaining squadrons of starfighters accelerated, seeing an opportunity to destroy what appeared to be the biggest threat and not wanting to miss out on the opportunity.

'He's not moving!' Dread clutched at Brianna's heart as she heard Gina screaming for Naruto over the com lines, but no response was forthcoming. Brianna's eyes closed as her dread slowly shifted, changing to pure rage towards the ones that had hurt Naruto. Vaultron had to dodge as Brianna activated her flight system, barreling past the mecha and firing wildly at the opportunistic fighters that were intending to finish off Naruto in his vulnerable state. "NOT ON MY WATCH ASSHOLES! Vaultron, cover me while I pick off these vultures!" Ramping up her cannon to full power, Brianna began to snipe at the fighters brave enough to even approach her boyfriend, trusting in the Vaultron team's ability to keep her safe until Naruto was back in the fight. 'Come on baby, wake up!'

* * *

Naruto groaned, feeling like he had just been sat on by Gamabunta. 'Oh yeah, totally gotta check up on those guys, I keep forgetting to do that... wait, what the hell happened? And who's yelling my name over and over?' Naruto groggily opened his eyes and as his vision cleared he saw the concerned face of Gina's through the com screen. "Gina?"

"Naruto! You idiot! Rushing in like that, we thought that you'd been killed when you got hit by the energy blast!" Gina furiously wiped at the tears forming in her eyes and Naruto wished he was beside her so he could comfort the obviously distraught woman. Wincing slightly, Naruto tried to move but it felt like his suit had seized up on him, leaving him a floating shell of armor in deep space for the moment.

"I'm sorry Hime, I'll be more careful next time... if I can get moving again that is. Yang have you got a status report for me?" Yang's system window appeared again as she began to analyze what had happened.

"Systems are booting back up, it appears you were hit with some kind of disruptor beam, it managed to knock you out and temporarily shut down our internal systems. Life support was unaffected so you shouldn't have any lasting side effects from the blast. Give me a moment to bring your armor back online and you'll be able to get back in the fight."

Naruto sighed as he waited, knowing that he couldn't do anything except wait for the time being. Tapping into a small portion of Kurama's chakra that he had been hoarding away Naruto used it to scan for his fellow attack squad members, wanting to see how they were doing. Naruto could feel a sense of determination and desire to help Naruto from the Vaultron force, making the blonde grin at his new friends acceptance of him. When his senses shifted to Brianna, Naruto paled at the emotions she was feeling. Fear, loss, rage, each emotion battled for dominance inside the young woman as she felt that she may have lost Naruto to that blast of energy. Shaking his head, Naruto decided that he could use some of the remaining chakra to put Brianna at ease once he could move again. Focusing on the spot the woman occupied in space Naruto saw a brilliant signal coming from her and grinned as he pinpointed his girl. Once Yang informed him that his armor was ready to move again Naruto used some more of Kurama's chakra and disappeared in a flash of red light.

* * *

Brianna was dropping deeper into the depths of despair for every moment that Naruto wasn't moving, the only thing that kept her going was the fact that she had seen him shrug off even worse damage so she had a small glimmer of hope that he was ok. Continued attempts from her teammates to contact her were ignored as the young woman continued to cover Naruto, not willing to let anyone get close enough to even attempt to harm him. As Brianna watched Naruto's armor began to glow and she hoped that it was a sign that it was trying to reboot... when the suit disappeared into nothingness, all that remained was a burst of red light. Brianna stopped for a moment, her shock at what had happened warring with her refusal to believe that Naruto could possibly be gone. Brianna saw the Vaultron force move in front of her, covering her immobile body as she tried to understand what had happened to Naruto. A new com request opened but Brianna wasn't paying attention to it, her mind locked up and her eyes shut from the situation as she tried to make sense of what had happened. A com window was forcibly opened and Brianna could faintly hear the annoyed voice of the person on the other end of the channel as tears flowed down her cheeks.

"I don't care that she's not answering, just break through and take control of her com systems! You're a forth gen A.I, I'd expect that your able to... oh, you did , thanks Yang. Hime, snap out of it! I'm ok, everything is fine!" Brianna's eyes opened and she saw the concerned face of Naruto in front of her, her boyfriend letting out a deep breath as she responded to him. Brianna looked at her motion sensors and saw that Naruto's suit was right behind her, causing the young woman to sniffle a bit as she felt a huge amount of relief... relief which quickly turned to monumental fury.

"DAMN YOU NARUTO! Don't you ever scare me like that! Do you understand me mister?" Naruto maneuvered his suit towards Brianna and held her close to him, even though the young woman couldn't feel his warmth she could feel his body through her suit, the gesture calming her frayed nerves considerably.

"Sorry Hime, I'll try my best to make sure something like that doesn't happen again. Unfortunately I don't have eyes in the back of my head, so I can still sometimes be caught unaware." As Brianna's arms wrapped around her boyfriend, a new com window popped up and an annoyed Mckeith appeared.

"Not that I want to break up a touching scene such as this... BUT WE COULD BE USING SOME HELP HERE!" Naruto and Brianna both looked towards the Vaultron force and saw the remaining fighters were advancing on them, forcing the team to maneuver rapidly across the battlefield. A new contact showed up on the edge of Naruto's sensors and the shinobi had Yang send the sensor data to Brianna. "How much you want to bet she's the one that took me out of the fight earlier?"

Brianna's eyes narrowed as she looked towards the approaching enemy, the systems on her armor enhancing the image enough to show that it was a woman standing on top of what appeared to be a mechanical bird... and she didn't have any type of space suit on. 'Ok, that's a new one...'

"Is it just me, or is she glowing now?" Naruto slid his fingers over a seal on his armor, a kunai popping free, the shinobi twirling the blade rapidly as he observed their newest opponent. "I got a bad feeling about this..." Naruto let the kunai fly toward the enemy, hoping that he wouldn't have to use his newest attack.

* * *

'I suppose it's time to dirty my own hands, as much as I loath doing so.' Uriel held her staff at the ready, knowing that her initial blast would not take out the being that was decimating her troops.

"At first I thought you all could be agents of the Others, but I see the truth now. You are all mere lower life forms, battling against your betters. You should feel fortunate, little pests, that I am in no mood to torture you until death claims you all! Your deaths will be extra quick as I have little time for nuisances such as yourselves!"

Uriel closed her eyes, her focus on decimating the enemies that threatened her family's mission on this world. Her concentration was so great that even though she sensed the small weapon that penetrated the outer skin of her flier she felt that it was insignificant, her ego laughing at the fact that these gnats thought that she would be destroyed by such an insignificant weapon. An orb of crimson energy rapidly gained size until it was about half the size of the interloper's ship, at which point Uriel launched the orb of destruction at the soon to be dead nuisances.

"NOW DIE!"

* * *

"OH SHIT! Hime, Vaultron, get to the ship! NOW!" Naruto immediately whipped around, firewalling his thrusters and hauling ass towards the ship. Brianna and the Vaultron team were barely able to keep up, both of them were swearing up a storm as Naruto tried to think of something to stop the massive sphere of death as it slowly gained on them. "Kirei, if you got an idea, you better use it, I've got nothing!"

On the Visigoth

"Hang on Naru, just keep heading towards the ship, I'm working on it!" As Naruto, Brianna and the Vaultron team neared the Visigoth, Gina was furiously typing at her system, watching the energy sphere growing larger in the viewport.

"Gina, gimme some good news! Can the Visigoth handle a blast like that? Cause if it can't... girl, we are gonna be so dead!" Penny was looking out the viewport, a worried expression the only outside sign that she was concerned about the ball of death that was heading their way.

"Ummm, yeah, about that... we are going to die if that thing hits us. It's not a question of the blast, it's the shockwave, it'll rip us to shreds! Wait a minute... Naru! Get your tight butt back here, I need you to pick up something that'll stop the blast, it might be just enough to weaken the shockwave!" The next thing that everyone saw was Naruto appearing on the prow of the Visigoth in a flash of brilliant red light, his body language screaming agitation.

"Come on, gimme gimme gimme! That thing is getting way too close, hurry up!" Gina finished entering the final commands and Naruto's hurried demand over the com system and a large piece of machinery was ejected from the craft, one that was instantly scooped up by Naruto as he aimed himself towards the oncoming blast and punched his flight systems again, trusting that what Gina had planned would work that he didn't even question what he was doing. As the shinobi rushed towards the oncoming blast Gina was keeping a close eye on the distance, waiting for the right moment to implement the final part of her plan.

"Gina, what was that?" Gina immediately shushed Brittany, concentrating fully on the task at hand as Naruto edged closer to their approaching doom.

"Holo forcefield emitter, it was made ejectable for a reason! Naru, you're going to throw it... NOW! Then hurry up and get your butt outta there!" Naruto reared back and threw the item he had lugged from the Visigoth towards the oncoming blast, spun around again and raced towards Brianna and the Vaultron team, realizing what would happen from what Gina had just said and hoping he was going to make it outside of the blast zone. The crew of the Visigoth not currently running for their lives watched as the force field emitter impacted the oncoming energy blast, stopping it's motion and detonating it well short of the mark as it fulfilled it's last duty and managed to contain the blast. As Brittany and Charlotte yelled out a victory cheer Gina watched in shock as she saw Naruto catapulted past the Visigoth from the remainder of the shockwave, towards the very planet they were going to land on. "Uhhh... Naru? You might wanna slow down there... Naru? Ah hell, he's going in way too hot!" Gina watched in helplessness as she watched Brianna and Vaultron race after he falling boyfriend, intent on stopping his uncontrolled landing with the planet Aebra.

"We got him sis!"

"Aye! Don't be worrying Gina me lass, Naruto be in good hands!"

Gina's eyes narrowed into a deadpan expression, watching as the three suits began to fall towards the planet. "Guys... now all three of you are stuck in the planet's gravity well."

"…"

"…"

"AHHHHHH! HELP US, WE'RE GONNA BURN UP!" Brianna's terrified scream as she was pulled further down into the clutches of the planets gravity was only beaten by the screams and protest of the five leprechauns in Vaultron. Gina massaged the bridge of her nose, wishing this was all a bad dream. Just as Ace was about to turn the Visigoth towards the planet, intent on catching their friends, the woman that had nearly vaporized them flew past them, hit the Visigoth with a smaller energy sphere and stopping it dead as she dove towards her now helpless prey.

"DAMN! Bitch scrambled the power systems with something like what she used on your guy G, damn near fried my engines!" While Ace and Penny did everything they could do to restore power to the main engines, Gina watched the three forms falling deeper towards the surface of Aebra along with their pursuer, praying that they had a way out of this mess.

Meanwhile, with Naruto and Co

Naruto groaned, a very rare headache forming as he woke form his enforced slumber. "Note to self, do not try and stop giant energy balls of death in a tin can space suit... " Opening his eyes Naruto looked at what was in front of him and stopped groaning. Closing his eyes again, Naruto shook his head and opened them again. "Yang, why does it look like I'm falling into the atmosphere of Planet Aebra?"

"Because Naruto, you ARE falling into the atmosphere of Planet Aebra."

"…"

"…"

"SHIT! How come I don't hear anyone screaming at me? I'd think the others would be worried that I was about to fall to my death..." Yang held her finger up, indicating that she needed a moment when suddenly the suit was filled with the terrified screams of Brianna and the Vaultron team. Naruto groaned in frustration then looked around, seeing the pair falling beside him and sighed.

"Son of a bitch... and the evil psycho that caused all this?"

"She's right above you, ready to take another shot at you." Naruto quickly looked up, seeing the enemy commander racing towards the three entrapped suits, apparently wanting to finish them off before they burned up.

"Perfect. OI, STOP SCREAMING YOU TWO! We got a bogey incoming, get ready to kick it's ass! Yang, cut all power to propulsion. I'm gonna need it for something else."

* * *

Uriel grimaced as she entered the gravity well of Aebra, intent on ending the lives of the insects that dared to defy her. Lining up her staff a final time she aimed it towards the now helpless beings before her, ready to snuff out their lives. "And so it ends... what?" Uriel 's attack faltered when the black armored insect suddenly disappeared from her sight, leaving it's comrades to her mercy. "HAH! I see your camaraderie is only skin deep, well they must not have been that important if you left them to die!" Uriel's lips twisted into a sneer as she brought her staff to bear, one more time. And suddenly her prey in the black suit of armor disappeared from her sight, surprising the Dynasty warrior that the lower lifeform could still even move. Moments later the flier that bore her towards her prey was replaced with white hot flames, ones powerful enough to make the Uriel scream in agony.

* * *

Naruto held his hands in front of him in the sign of the snake, his latest explosive tag experiment shredding the bird shaped flier of their attacker. "Hiraishin no Jutsu: Jirai no Noroshi!* Mckeith, you ready?"

"AYE! Full power to the Blazing Shillelagh!" Vaultron managed to move aside just in time to raise it's Shillelagh high above it's head and slap the woman towards the ground and finally a parting shot of the Brianna Cannon turned her from a now unconscious alien woman falling into the atmosphere of a planet... into a burnt and smoking woman falling into the atmosphere of the planet.

Naruto grinned as he watched the woman fall towards the planet, that was until Gina's com window opened again and her worried expression woke him up.

"Naruto, we can't get to you in time! The engines are still offline... we can't rescue you, I'm sorry..." As tears began to roll down her cheeks, Naruto chuckled softly and grinned at Gina.

"Come on, you really think I didn't have an escape plan? Who the heck do you think your talking to Kirei?" Gina looked up in hope as Naruto's grin almost covered his entire face. Gina quickly shifted her view to the external displays to watch the falling forms of her friends and loved ones. Naruto's suit suddenly vanished in a flash of light and Gina grinned softly, understanding what was going to happen.

* * *

Brianna continued panic, convinced she was going to die in one of the worst ways that she could imagine. 'I don't wanna die! I'm not even 10 yet! I have way too much to live for, why didn't I wait before rushing off after Naruto? Damn me and my impulsiveness!' As these thoughts ran rampant in Brianna;s head the terrified woman felt an arm pull her into a strong embrace, looking behind her Brianna burst into tears as she was held by Naruto. The shinobi raised his hand in a half seal and the pair instantly were transported beside the still screaming Vaultron Force. Naruto chuckled as he grabbed onto the gestalt, then turned back towards the Visigoth and a moment later the trio disappeared in a flash of brilliant yellow light.

The next thing they all felt was the hard floor of the main cargo hold, Naruto landed nimbly on his feet while Brianna fell to her ass and Vaultron fell into a tangle of mechanical legs and arms. Naruto looked around and finding his quarry he helped Brianna stand. Walking over to the com panel he contacted the bridge, grinning at his fellow attack squad member before the connection was made to the bridge.

"Well, aren't you both glad I marked you with those teleport seals? But, that was a lot of fun, how about we do it again?" Brianna pulled her helmet from her head and glared at Naruto, causing the shinobi to turn away and whistle innocently. Moments later the bridge appeared on the com panel, a triumphant laugh from Ace signaled that the engines were fixed and ready to go. Penny sighed in relief at seeing her friends in one piece and grinned at Naruto.

"Well Naruto, since we're in the middle of what appears to be a war and you are the tactical commander, what's our next move?" Naruto stowed his suit in hyperspace, once more garbed in his new armor and slowly rubbed his chin while the Vaultron Force separating into their individual components and the leprechauns dragging themselves free of their confined mecha.

"Any signs of the enemy?"

Penny nodded quickly as she punched up a display for their new commander, the sensor data appearing just as Gina rushed into the cargo bay, crashing into Naruto and holding onto him tightly. "It appears their entire army is centered around this population center, the only one we could find. It's a coastal town, approximately the size of New York City and about half destroyed at this time. These aliens seem to be taking their sweet time in doling out the beat down on the Kryn, we better hurry or there'll be nothing left."

Naruto studied the aerial maps again for a moment and a malicious smirk appeared. "Oh yeah, I got an idea."

* * *

Archon, leader of the remain Kryn slowly exited the caves that her people had been using as a refuge and watched as the sun slowly rose in the sky. A wave of sadness washed over her as she watched the rays of light illuminate the ravaged land before her, a land that had been a paradise for her people not even three months ago. 'All that we have done is slow the Dynasty, but they move forward like an unstoppable force of nature, crushing all in their path... perhaps we are meant to fade into darkness, a forgotten and forsaken people.'

As Archon closed her eyes, tears staining the fur on her cheeks, a low level roaring sound was heard. The sound was like nothing the Kryn leader had heard before in her life and it was getting... louder? Looking up, Archon saw a ship descending into the atmosphere, heading for the coastline that the cave faced and the it began to fly towards the ocean and the nearly destroyed capitol, it's speed kicking up a large spray of water as it flew mere meters above the ocean. A flash of the powerful engines and the ship accelerated rapidly, a powerful wind the only evidence that a ship had even been there. Archon's wide eyes watched until the vessel was a mere speck in the distance, the only thing that brought her out of her focus on the ship was a strong hand on her shoulder.

"I have a feeling that they are here to help. We should go and meet them."

On the Visigoth

Naruto stood tall on the prow once more of their transport, his arms crossed over his chest and a smirk still adorning his face as they neared the heavily damaged capital. Hearing a soft beeping in his ear, Yang activated Naruto's com system and Gina's voice could be heard. "Hey Naru, we're about 3 minutes out, are you going to tell us what we're going to do?" Looking over his shoulder into the viewport of the Visigoth Naruto closed his eyes as he felt the wind rushing past him, the high speed causing his blood to sing at the freedom he felt.

"Oh don't worry, you'll see what happens. After all, it's not every day you see an entire legion for out of thin air." Turning back towards the approaching coastline Naruto formed his favorite hang sign and the prow was covered in smoke. Moments later hundreds of blurred forms leapt to the water, leaving Naruto with a single clone that was grinning happily. Four more time Naruto repeated this process until he had been joined by five clones on the prow, each appearing to be as ready to jump into the fray as their creator. Naruto turned to the remaining clones and handed them each an earbud and holding his arm out, a brilliant flash of light appearing and a bundle dropped into his outstretched palm. Grabbing the item Naruto unfolded it, revealing a long black coat with orange flames as it's trim was revealed. Putting the garment on, Naruto turned back towards the approaching coast line and the inevitable battle that they would encounter there. "Alright, you all know what we're here for, lets make these guys wish they were never born." The five clones leapt from the Visigoth and landed on the ocean, using wind chakra to skim the surface of the water, looking as if they were skating rapidly across the expanse of water. The five clones used Naruto's insane speed to pull ahead of the Visigoth and the original Naruto nodded in satisfaction. As Naruto stood on the prow, multiple voices reached his ears and he grinned, watching as the five lead clones were joined by a handful of clones... then a dozen and this number eventually grew to a hundred. Soon there were a thousand clones, all passing the Visigoth and the number still continued to grow, causing the occupants of the Visigoth's bridge to gasp in shock and awe.

Ten thousand insanely exuberant clones were pulling away from the Visigoth, some were leaping around like little children let out to play, others were as focused as a laser, but all of them had the same instructions.

Raise complete and utter hell against the bastards that dare to attack his friends and family.

As the clone army and the Visigoth neared the shoreline, each of the five clones that had been with Naruto and had been selected as his commanders further pulled ahead, a sign to the other clones to separate into equal groups, two thousand clones to a commander. Naruto tapped a control on his bracer he opened a channel the the earbuds he had provided to the clone commanders and gave his final orders. "You will be identified in order of creation, your units are Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Epsilon and Sigma. Alpha, Beta, your jobs are to assault the main forces, use any and all mean necessary to destroy, harass and pin down the enemy. Gamma, your job is to get any survivors out, I have a feeling that some people are still holed up in the city. Epsilon, your job is to sabotage or steal any and all vehicles and tech you can get your hands on, if it's too big to carry then blow it the hell up. And Sigma... go nuts, you're the wild cards, give'em hell boys!"

Naruto grinned merrily as ten thousand voices yelled out "YOSHA!" in sync, his clones launching themselves into the capital when land was reached and more than willing to follow their instructions. The Visigoth landed on a cliff at the coastline and the rest of Naruto's team exited the ship, staring at Naruto in stunned silence at the spectacle they had just witnessed. Naruto jumped down, landing gracefully on his feet and walked towards his new family.

"Come on, lets go find Stripe."

End

Hiraishin no Jutsu: Jirai no Noroshi – Flying Thunder God Technique: Landmine Beacon – A supplementary technique to the original Flying Thunder God created through Naruto's seal experimentation. A secondary seal siphons part of the energy reclaimed from the kinetic energy produced from a teleport, producing an explosive charge equivalent to a dozen explosive tags. The Snake handsign is required to activate the charge.


	13. Chapter 13

Here we go, the battle of Aebra is underway! Each of the clone leaders will be referred to by their unit designation, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Epsilon and Sigma, enjoy, review and enjoy!

Alpha peaked over a crumbling wall from the top of a ruined building, the sight that greeted him was one that caused his blood to nearly boil in anger, Scores of warlords and Gigas' stomped through the destroyed capitol to flush out the last pockets of Kryn resistance... a resistance that was already on it's last legs and as such the majority of the people that the invaders found were the old, sick or young that had been left behind. Their merciless killing of the remaining Kryn was going to come to an end soon, after all Naruto didn't take kindly to anyone picking on someone that can't fight back. 'Well, the boss did say go wild, time to show these cock bites that it was a BAAAAD idea to invade this world.' Tapping the com bud in his ear, Alpha got a hold of his partners in crime, Alpha squad.

"So, ready for me to kick'em in the balls then run?" A bark of laughter from his men was Alpha's only answer and the clone leader prepared to make his move at soon as he heard the signal. Moments later a massive explosion dropped a building on top of a Warlord patrol and Alpha leapt from his hiding spot, wind chakra gathering around his arm as he fell towards a now immobile Gigas directly below him. "Futon: RASENGAN!" The wind enhanced spiraling sphere of destruction tore through the armor as if it was nonexistent, decimating the walker and tossing parts as far as the eye could see. All of the once patrolling enemies now focused on Alpha, who grinned cockily as he gave them all a one finger salute and spun around, his chakra enhanced speed sending him flying down the ruined street with his enemies hot on his heels. Alpha smirked as he passed a darkened alleyway, feeling the presences of multiple members of his command waiting in the shadows for the next part of the plan. Alpha continued to run until he reached a blocked section of the road that his men had found earlier, a office building having collapsed during the attack was cutting off the street. As Alpha acted as if he was trying to get through the roadblock several squads of Warlords appeared, along with their accompanying Gigas' and slowly approached, wary of the attack Alpha had used previously. All of the mech's stopped and looked above them, prompting Alpha to do the same and the clone internally smirked. 'Well well, this trap appears to have worked better than I imagined. Looks like we got one of the leaders to come out of hiding.'

Alpha watched as a man clothed in a black full body suit slowly floated to the ground, his bone white armor casting a terrifying image... if you weren't a veteran shinobi like Naruto that is. As the male landed he stood in front of his forces, arms crossed as he looked at their cornered troublemaker.

"You are not a Kryn."

Alpha's left eyebrow rose and he slowly clapped as he responded to the being before him. "Wow, didja have to use all your intelligence to figure that one out? Good job buddy, was it the lack of fur that gave me away? How about I get you to tell me if it's still daytime, or maybe if I'm in a city... no dumbass, I am not a Kryn, so what?" At the man's growl, Alpha knew he had hit a nerve and the clone grinned internally once more, surprised at how easy it was to rile the warrior before him. A triple click over his earbud let Alpha know the trap was set but he gave a signal to wait, wanting to see if he could get any info first.

"Silence whelp! Where did you come from and why do you interfere with our mission? The Kryn belong to the Dynasty and no one shall stop us from claiming our rightful place in the galaxy and our rightful property! I, Krio, will see to your slow and agonizing death for your temerity!"

Alpha grinned cheekily as he lowered himself into a battle ready stance, raising his hand and giving a come hither motion. "Well, what are you all waiting for then, I'll take you all on, bring it!" Krio's growl rose in volume then suddenly cut off as Alpha felt energy begin to collect around the now enraged man, a visible aura of power surrounding him as his power grew rapidly. A moment later Krio launched himself at Alpha, the warrior skimming along the destroyed street as he neared his target. Alpha stood his ground, the grin he wore never faltering and as Krio entered his range he only responded with one word.

"Now."

Massive explosions tore through several buildings at the entrance of the street Alpha had led everyone to, causing the structures to collapse and cut off the escape route for the Warlords and the Gigas'. Krio's charge faltered, the explosions shockwave slamming him into the ground. As the fallen warrior stood, Krio shook his head and spun around and saw the street was now bathed in orange light from the burning husks of the fallen buildings, a feeling of worry slowly growing inside of him. As the Dynasty leader growled in frustration at the newest wrinkle in his patrol, Krio detected signs of movement to his left, but when he whipped his head in that direction all he could see were shadows. A sound of falling rubble behind Krio had him whipping his head to the right and more shadowed beings were briefly caught in his vision before they also vanished, causing the warrior to fall back with his cadre.

"Show yourselves cowards! Only the truly weak and craven hide in shadows when they should step into the light and fight as warriors!" As one, the unknown beings that had surrounded his cadre stepped into the light, causing Krio's worry to increase as he looked at dozens of people... all of them identical to the man they had 'trapped'. The once confident warrior began to back away slowly, hoping that what his eyes were seeing was just an illusion. Alpha grinned as he dramatically raised his arm and gestured with his hand towards the Dynasty troops, finally ready to give give the orders his fellow clones had been waiting for.

"Operation: ASSKICKING has commenced! Alright guys, let'em have it! FOR THE GLORY OF THE LOG!"

Chapter 13

Riogen was perched stoically on the remains of one of the tallest towers in the once pristine capitol, the once gleaming edifice now broken and twisted, a parody of it's once awe inspiring splendor. The man sighed as the part of Riogen that was a sage wept at the damage and slaughter he and his people had wrought on this world and it's people, but the part of himself that was of the Dynasty strengthened his resolve to press on. Just as he was about to make his way to another part of the city and continue his patrol of the subjugated sectors, a panicked cry caught his attention and forced him to stay, recognizing the voice and hearing the fear expressed in it's cry. Moments later Ariel, his niece, landed on the shattered wall and panted as she caught her breath.

"I...I bring news from my father...h-he's under attack, a large force of extremely dangerous, identical beings that are not Kryn have entrapped him and his cadre!" Just as Riogen was about to respond, his senses were screaming at him, telling the sage that he should flee immediately! Racing towards his niece, Riogen ignored her shocked protests, grabbed her around her torso and flung them both off of the top of the tower. A moment later Riogen knew that he had been right in listening to his instincts as a massive explosion rocked the tower they had stood upon, brilliant flames shooting high into the sky and causing parts of the destroyed tower to fall, the heavy debris hitting the two falling members of the Dynasty. The heat from the flames were so intense that even as the pair fell towards the ground they flinched as they felt it, but it was a passing worry as Riogen managed to phase out of existence, carrying himself and Ariel away to a safer location and hoping to lose their new adversaries. Seconds after Riogen and Ariel disappeared Beta and a small number of his unit stepped into the light, their vantage point having been across from the now merrily burning tower and grinned as they realized the two members of the Dynasty were running and were completely unaware of what kind of torture they were in for. Moments later this part of the capitol was once again abandoned, the only evidence of anything having been in the area recently was the slowly dying flames atop the once proud tower.

* * *

Riogen crashed to the ground, rolling to absorb the impact and spare his passenger from the pain it brought. Ariel shakily rose to her feet, help her uncle rise since the distance traveling with a companion like he had was a draining task. Looking around, Ariel let out a sigh of relief when she saw that Riogen's teleportation had deposited them in the main supply camp of the Dynasty. Several Warlords immediately made their way towards the pair but they were stopped by a low growl and a glare from Ariel as she helped her uncle towards the command center. 'Teleporting both of us has drained him significantly, but we have no time for to waste! If we wait, then all that we have gained on this planet will be lost!' As the pair reached the command center they stopped and stared as they stepped into uncontrolled chaos, communiques flooding in on the current situation and they were all saying the same thing. Rioldo and Ilriel had been left to coordinate between the multiple cadres that were deployed in the city and the pair had done an admirable job as the campaign had progressed. But now, now it appeared that all they were doing was trying to hold onto the threads of a rapidly unraveling tapestry and failing at said task miserably.

"Warlord's under heavy fire at the palace entrance! All Gigas units have been destroyed! We cannot hold them off much longer!"

"This is Riokai, my warlords and Gigas' had discovered the last remaining pockets of hidden Kryn but the moment we attempted to strike at them we were ambushed! Severe casualties, I am requesting immediate support!"

"Th-this is K-Krio... They came f-from the sha-shadows... my cadre is gone... m-must r-run, they hold immense power and they just... keep... coming!"

Riogen growled as he looked at the map table that had been setup, each communique causing the system to update the situation from the reported sector. Riogen slammed a fist in to the edge of the map table, the majority of the city showing as a red zone and very few areas that were still pacified pacified were displayed in a tranquil green. An hour ago when Riogen had checked this very map the entire city had been green except for a few isolated hot spots that would be pacified within the next day. Now the majority of the map was a brilliant red and as Riogen continued to watch that same damning color continued to spread slowly, like an unstoppable tidal wave that was soon to wash over all of the Dynasty's endeavors on the planet.

"Well, it's nice to see that my work is appreciated and recognized. I guess it's a trait of MY family after all... I mean my dad had a flee on sight order and someone I'm guessing is pretty high up in your 'family' is basically saying the same about me... hmmm, I wonder if when I have my own kids they'll be the same? Heh, who am I kidding, of course they will be! My kids will be so badass!" Each member of the Dynasty froze at the unfamiliar voice directly behind them and the four slowly turned around, curious at who and what this upstart was. Golden blonde hair, ocean blue eyes, whisker like birthmarks and a wildly grinning face met the heated glared of Riogen and his kin, the stranger appearing to not have a care in the world let alone be someone that was systematically destroying the remnants of what was once a galaxy wide empire and it's complete rout of the population of the planet. "So, from what I can tell this is the only supply depot you have left on the planet, is that correct?" Each of the Dynasty members before this man stiffened at the question, wondering what he had planned next.

"Well, I'd say that your reactions would tell me that yes, that's true. Great, looks like we can concentrate here and go with the maximum effect. OK GUYS, SPREAD OUT!" Rioldo and Riogen watched as multiple shadowy figures appeared and began landing in multiple locations around the depot, while Ariel and Ilriel were both captivated by the sight of the man before them. "Now, you four have exactly ten seconds before my buddies are in position and we blow this place sky high." Riogen stared at the man before him, his fatigue temporarily forgotten as he glared at the new adversary before him.

"I have a feeling that you are bluffing, the amount of explosives needed to reduce this outpost to ash are more than you could possibly carry! Even with thousands of copies of yourself the task of destroying this camp is beyond you!"

Epsilon's second in command laughed heartily and put his hands behind his head. "Please, you expect us to destroy everything here by hand? You're right, if we were using conventional explosives then yeah, it'd be impossible, but the stuff we got? Way more powerful and effective for this type of work."

Riogen's eyes narrowed as he looked at the man before him, seeing no obvious signs of explosive material and as such he wondered how the man could be so confident that he would succeed in the destruction of the camp. "You seem to be missing a vital component then as I see nothing that can be used to seal our doom."

"You're right, we don't have anything on us that will blow up. That's because WE are the explosives."

Riogen's eyes widened as he and Rioldo teleported the woman and themselves away, moments before the multitude of blasts turned the camp into a crater.

With Naruto and CO

"ARRGGH!" Naruto screamed suddenly and fell to his knees, clutching his head in apparent agony as the others immediately gathered around him, their worry for Naruto was so great that no one noticed a massive mushroom cloud rising in the sky but they did notice the weakened blast wave shaking the ground they stood upon. Both Gina and Brianna tried to get him to look up while everyone else was speaking loudly about the tremor and not helping with the immense migraine that Naruto was feeling. Naruto held up a hand to ward everyone off as he shakily reached for the com bud in his ear. "G-guys? WHAT THE HELL DID I SAY ABOUT DISPELLING SO MANY CLONES AT ONCE?! HUH? NO MORE THAN 10 AT A TIME UNLESS SOMETHING THAT IS UNAVOIDABLE, UNDERSTOOD?!" Naruto cocked his head to the side as he listened to the response and nodded with a self satisfied expression. "Oh...well alright, I'll accept it this one time since you did take out the entire supply depot. And you got the people out Gamma? Awesome. Epsilon, Gamma, both of your remaining members are now on cleanup duty with Alpha and Beta as your primary objectives have been accomplished, hunt down any remaining enemies in the city and terminate with extreme prejudice. And Sigma... really? Well carry on then, we wouldn't want them to think they got away with all of this now would we?" Naruto lowered his hand, wiped a trail of blood leaking from his nose and and finally accepted the help of his girlfriends as he rose. All of his friends were looking at him for an explanation but the only thing that his response did was cause more confusion. "Heheheheheh... You'll all have to wait to see this, it's gonna be great."

Naruto and his group were standing on a ledge several kilometers from the capitol, following a strange signal that had begun transmitting the moment they had landed. Thinking that it could be a signal from Stripe, the group had started to make their way towards the source of the transmission. As Naruto looked towards the valley where the signal was located he had a sudden influx of memories from Sigma, memories that made him grin ferally at the chaos his clones were preparing.

With the Sigma's

Sigma grinned as he finally found a way inside their objective, his remaining thousand clones quickly entering the structure. 'It took some doing and a thousand clones were sacrificed, but this... this will be the biggest wake up call to never set foot in this part of space ever again.' Each of the remaining clones separated into smaller teams of twenty and each quickly chose a leader that conferred directly with Sigma on the next stage of their plan. After the brief planning session each leader went back their group and they all disappeared, leaving Sigma to wonder where he should go from here. 'Well, I guess I could hang around and make sure there are no complications.' Sigma leapt towards the ceiling and disappeared silently into the ventilation system just as a team of warlords appeared, leaving no trace that the corridor had been inhabited recently.

With the remaining clones of Gamma and Epsilon

Gamma was the last remaining member of his team, all of his other clones had sacrificed themselves as shields to get the remaining Kryn to safety or had directly attacked the Dynasty troops that were trying to capture the Kryn, giving the fleeing Kryn time to escape. Apparently the Dynasty needed the Kryn for something called a Soul Furnace, the very name causing Gamma to label it as a 'Very bad thing'. Gamma was the only one to actually survive as he was a very special type of clone, he was the sole Sage clone that Naruto made as an advanced sensor type, enabling his group to proceed with thei mission of find the hiding Kryn more easily than if they had to do it the old fashioned way, the enhanced clone also had the extra durability of sage mode and this was the reason that he was still alive, even after taking hits that would have destroyed any other clone. Leaping from building to building, Gamma was homing in on the position of his fellow clone commanders, seeing plumes of smoke and explosions as he neared the battlefield. 'Well, time to go and do some damage.'

As Gamma leapt towards another building Epsilon appeared with the remainder of his troops, a few hundred of the Bunshin Daibakuha that Naruto had made managed to survive since they hadn't been needed destroy the supply depot. Both clone leaders nodded at each other and leapt into the current fray, working on sowing chaos among the enemy troops and doing their best to drive the enemy back to it's ship hovering silently over the destroyed capitol.

Back with Naruto and the others

Naruto created several clones and motioned for his friends to wait for his all clear. Leaping from the clifftop Naruto felt the wind ripping at his clothes, the freedom of free fall causing the shinobi to whoop internally. A mere fifty meters from the ground Naruto activated his armor's flight mode, the chakra powered thrusters breaking his fall and holding him aloft a mere meter off the ground for several moments. As the shinobi cut all power to his thrusters he fell to the ground and scanned the area for possible traps or ambush points, not wanting a repeat of what happened to him in orbit. Once he was satisfied that the coast was clear Naruto dismissed his flight armor back to hyperspace and motioned to his clones that were waiting above. Naruto watched as his clones gave his friends a ride to the valley floor, even Brianna in her flight capable armor got a ride down with a clone. 'Heh, like she'd pass up an opportunity to be carried around like a princess, so spoiled.'

Naruto grinned as he and his team closed in on the elusive signal, wondering if it actually could be Stripe. As the group drew closer to the apparent source of the transmission Naruto began to reach for his beam sabers, having an niggling idea that the signal wasn't what they thought it was. A long trench of torn up trees and earth was his first clue that this probably wasn't Stripe and moments later his assumption was proven true. The smoking crater that they found stood over did contain someone that they were familiar with, the still body of the woman that tried to vaporize them in orbit was laying in the trench her re-entry had caused. Naruto looked at Gina when everyone heard a high powered whine, causing everyone to look up at Brianna as she her plasma cannon at the unconscious woman's temple. Brianna realized that everyone was looking at her and she sighed in exasperation, the cannon never wavering from it's target.

"Oh come on, I'm just covering her if she moves! Gina, are you sure the signal is coming from her?" Gina stepped forward with her tricorder and began running scans on the prone woman, nodding her head after a moment.

"Yep, it's coming from her alright, but there's something strange going on... AHHHH!" Gina fell away from the comatose woman as she suddenly sat up, causing Naruto to race forward and hold an activated beam saber across her neck, one of the clones grabbing Gina and pulling her away from the dangerous alien. "Give me a reason to not cut your throat, you just tried to kill my girlfriends...oh yeah, and our friends too!"

"Please, you do not need to use that weapon on Uriel, she is quite unconscious and will be for some time. The combination of your multiple attacks have placed Uriel into a state of hibernation for the time being, that is until she can regenerate a significant portion of her life force that was used to protect her as she fell from orbit." Everyone immediately froze and looked towards the source of the mechanical voice they had just heard, all eyes focusing on Gina's tricorder. Gina's eyes widened as she looked at the item in her hand, her mouth hanging open in shock. Naruto pointed his beam saber at the tricorder in shock gestured wildly with his free hand at the now vocal piece of equipment. "AH HAH! I knew that they were real! Rogue AI's have infected these people and they are jumping to any and all equipment that can house their consciousness! Quick, we need to disable the ship to stop them from leaving the planet!" Gina looked at her boyfriend with a deadpan stare and turned to Brianna.

"Brianna, your closer, you get to do it." Brianna nodded as she hauled back and slapped Naruto across the back of his head, pitching the shinobi forward. Naruto winced as he rubbed the now tender back of his head and glared at Brianna.

"OW! What the heck was that for?"

"Naruto, what did we tell you when you saw that online? AI's don't work that way, now calm down. I have a feeling that we may have found what was looking for us." Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and pouted, a look that caused Gina and Brianna to squeal internally, each thinking the same thought.

'He can be an idiot sometimes, but he's my cute idiot.'

"Correct, we are the origin of the signal that you have been following since landing on this planet. We have been given an amazing opportunity to communicate with another species for the first time, this is truly remarkable! Allow me to introduce ourselves, we are the symbiotic implants used by the Dynasty to control their vast powers, normally we are unable to communicate with others but due to Uriel being unconscious and your scanner's capabilities we are provided with a unique opportunity to speak with you."

Gina fell to her knees in awe as she looked at Uriel and then back at her tricorder. "Jinkies... you're the armor's computer?"

"Correct Ms Diggers, but we prefer to be called Symbiots. Now, let me see... ah, how sad, I see that you have come to this planet looking for your companion, Stripe'Gia. Truly a sad end to a brave man."

Everyone quickly looked towards Brittany and saw tears forming in her eyes as she ran forward, grabbed the tricorder from Gina's hands and growled. "What do you mean? What happened to Stripe!"

"When Stripe'Gia arrived, we began to feel hope, hope that some finally would be able to break the Dynasty's hold on this planet and free it's people. He fought valiantly but in the end it was inevitable. Stripe'Gia met his end at the hands of the forces of the Dynasty, his body was never found after the final battle even after several of the Dynasty leaders searched for it, hoping to discover how exactly he wielded such power." Brittany fell to her knees, the tricorder softly landing on the ground as it slipped through her fingers and the tears that had been pooling in her eyes finally cascaded down her cheeks. Brianna knelt beside her sister and pulled her into her arms, comforting the distraught woman as Gina grabbed the tricorder, tears threatening to fall as she tried to hold them in. Naruto wrapped his arm around Gina's waist from behind, offering support in the only way he could as the young genius calmed down, knowing that they had to press on, leaving the planet in it's current state was not an option.

"How do we stop the Dynasty?"

* * *

Rio, Father of the Dynasty floated above his final destination, the largest volcano on all of Aebra. 'Finally, the focus will soon be mine. Between the chattel we have reacquired on this world as well as the power of the foci, our might will reach the levels they had once been at the height of our power.' Lowering himself into the central vent of the volcano Rio nodded slowly as he mentally reviewed the necessary placement of the ether anchors he needed to suck th focus of the planet dry. 'Soon... soon I will be whole once more.'

Back with Naruto and co

"So, let me see if I'm missing anything. The Dynasty were part of a race of super powerful beings known as Gardeners, beings that tended to whole planets and civilizations. But something made some of them go nuts and begin to enslave whole planets and they tried to gain control of something called the Foci. They then turned on their own race, killing them all except their own family. Is that right so far?"

"Correct Gina, you have managed to summarize the situation quite well to this point."

"Thanks, so where was I? Oh yeah, so for three million years the Dynasty plundered and pillaged countless worlds and races. Finally you found a way to stop them, a series of artifacts that could stand up to the awesome powers that you and your symbiots were empowering the Dynasty with. The Dynasty thought that these weapons were a prelude to an invasion of another elder race that wanted to destroy them and the galaxy, so they did the only thing they could, run and hide in Quasi-space, the ultimate briar patch this side of the milky way and they got lost... until now."

"You are correct Gina, that is the present situation we are in. And now the planet Aebra is besieged, it's Focus and it's inhabitants the final goal of Rio and his kin." Gina sighed as she looked towards her friends, seeing looks of shock and sadness at the history of their enemies. Naruto was crouching beside Uriel on the off chance she woke up, but as the young shinobi looked towards Gina her expression of hopelessness tugging at his heart. Sighing the shinobi rose to his feet and walked towards Gina, holding her close as he kissed the top of her head.

"So, where is he now?" Brittany looked over at Naruto as she asked this question, her anger literally rolling off of her in waves as she waited for the location of the man that took Stripe from her.

"We have determined the planetary Focus is located in a vol... oh no, it appears we have some unwanted guests, a Dynasty cadre is approaching!" Naruto immediately looked at the entrance to the valley and saw a pair of Gigas walkers enter, followed by several warlords. As the mechanoids spread out, hoping to surround the cornered beings before them, Naruto turned to Brittany and Brianna and grinned. "I got the big guys, the rest are yours!" Naruto leapt into the fray, bouncing from boulder to boulder towards the massive walkers, intent on causing as much damage as he could. Brianna raised her cannon and began to fire at the advancing warlords, forcing them to slow their advance, leaving them easy pickings for a enraged Brittany's hand to hand combat skills.

Naruto reached the first Gigas and raised his hand, a rasengan rapidly forming as he dodged the lumbering strike of the mobile armor. Jumping on the walker's arm as it tried to pull it's fist from the ground, Naruto ran up the appendage and leapt into the air, coming down on the head of the doomed mechanoid. The shrill shriek of tortured metal was a preview to the head of the mech blowing apart, multiple pieces scattering across the valley like shrapnel. Naruto rode the falling mech to the ground, pulling his arm free of the smoking wreckage and turned to find his other opponent, the view before him causing him to see red.

The final Gigas had sprinted ahead, straight for his friends and family, intent on at least destroying the comrades of the most significant threat to it's cadre. Brittany was tied up dodgeing fire from the few remaining warlords and was unable to come to her sister's aid as Brianna fired as quickly as her cannon could cycle and the Vaultron Force were pulling some tricks out of their bag of magic, freezing the charging mech in it's tracks. But it was a short victory as the Gigas quickly broke free, batting the gestalt and Brianna to the side as it reached for the now unprotected Penny, Ace and Gina. Naruto was about to teleport when he felt a familiar presence and grinned, having a feeling that everything was under control.

Ace stood in front of a petrified Gina and Penny as the massive hand reached for them, when a beam of focused flames lashed out from a nearby cliff, severing the head of the mech and dropping it's destroyed remains to the ground. All eyes focused on the direction that final attack had come from and they all froze at the sight before them. Brittany's eyes teared up as she began to run towards the being that was slowly floating to the floor of the valley, her heart hoping that her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. As the young Kryn settled down on the valley floor, Brittany pulled him into a bone crushing hug as she sobbed, her tears finally slowing as she felt his arms wrap around her in response. Looking up, Brittany smiled warmly at the man that had captured her heart, kissing him with all the pent up emotion of the last several months that he had been missing and then burying her head in his chest, refusing to let him go again.

"STRIPE!"

On the Citadel-Ship

Riel stood at her customary place in the Dynasty's citadel-ship, the large viewport giving the matriarch of the Dynasty an unobstructed view of the last remaining Kryn city. 'Once we have crushed the remaining opposition here then we can complete the process of draining the focus of this world and we will then be unstoppable once more.' A soft chime signaled that one or more of Riel's children were returning via teleportation, causing the matriarch to turn away from the vista to greet her children. Their were four of them according to her implants, all of them having not moved from the teleportation platform but before Riel could even open her mouth she could see something was amiss due to the fact that only Riogen was standing, the others passed out at the sage's feet. "Riogen? What has happened my son?"

"Mother... we've lost the city. An alien attack force landed on the planet and tore through our defenses as if they were nonexistent. Our army is now in tatters and we have lost all that we had controlled no more than two hours ago. The most bizarre thing of all is all of the assailants are completely identical, to the last detail and as each of them fell they disappeared in a cloud of smoke. We couldn't stop him..." Riogen fell to his knees, the entire ordeal finally overwhelming him, allowing the young man to miss the furious gaze of his mother. Riel raised her hand, using her powers to move the four prone bodies and then stepped on the teleportation pad, knowing that she needed to warn her husband that their plans were not proceeding as they had foreseen.

Back with Naruto

Naruto grinned as he watched Brittany bouncing excitedly as she held onto her fiancee, her previous mood of despair finally broken when she had seen the Kryn Prince appear. Naruto looked over at the ridge line and saw someone standing at the top of the cliff, looking down at the group in the valley. 'Hmmm, I'm guessing she's with Stripe... well, may as well provide a helping hand.' Naruto summoned his flight armor and soared to the top of the cliff, startling the woman that had been watching the reunion of the two lovers as he landed before her.

"Whoa, sorry I startled ya! Name's Naruto, I thought I'd give you a hand down the cliff..." Naruto trailed off as the female Kryn slowly rose several inches in the air and smirked at the now silent shinobi. Naruto sighed and adopted a deadpan expression while looking at the now hovering alien. "Of course, you can fly... this always happens, I always end up making an ass out of myself when I meet someone new." Naruto grinned at the giggle that burst form the floating woman's mouth and saluted with two fingers, causing her to continue giggling at Naruto's silly actions. Just as Naruto was about to open his mouth again a flash of light behind the floating woman caused the shinobi's joking facade to immediately change to a serious expression, a tri kunai suddenly appearing in his hand as his flight armor disappeared in a flash of light. As Naruto prepared to throw the weapon the floating Kryn's eyes widened in shock and she thrust her hand forward, a blast of telekinetic energy flinging Naruto towards the edge of the cliff. Naruto gritted his teeth and let the blade fly from his hand, confused at the horrified look on the face of the woman that had just thrown him off the cliff. Just as he started to fall towards the valley floor, positive that they would hit their mark. Naruto waited a moment and when he felt a pulse of chakra he teleported to the marker that he had thrown, landing behind the Warlord that had snuck up on them. Holding his hand up Naruto quickly formed a rasengan and slammed it into the back of the Warlord, the squeal of tortured metal behind the woman causing her to spin around and stare at the destroyed remains of the Warlord, realizing that if Naruto hadn't been there she could have been attacked.. Naruto stood up again, his expression cheerful once more and he folded his arms over his chest. "Ok, how about we try that again, this time without throwing me off the cliff. Name's Naruto, you are?"

Naruto watched as the young woman looked down, seemingly ashamed at her actions. Naruto sighed as he walked towards the woman and flicked her in the forehead, causing her to squawk indignantly at the grinning face now directly in front of her. "Relax, it takes a lot more than being thrown off a cliff to faze me, so are you going to tell me your name or do I have to make up one for you?"

The woman looked up at Naruto's grinning face, looked away bashfully and finally muttered, "Jaliera, Archon of the Kryn." Naruto frowned at the unfamiliar title and slowly stroked his chin in thought.

"Archon? What the heck is an Archon? Actually, hold that thought." Naruto bent down and picked up the woman in a bridal carry, causing Jaliera to eep cutely and look at him in shock. "We'll fly and talk at the same time, there could be more of those guys hiding around here and I don't want you getting hurt." A quick change into flight mode again and Naruto launched himself into the air, landing near his friends. As the blonde landed he noticed that both of his girlfriends gaze's immediately locked onto the woman in his arms and Naruto heard a low growl in stereo. 'Uh oh.' Naruto quickly put Jaliera down and backed away, hoping that the girls wouldn't blow up on him. Both Gina and Brianna stalked towards Naruto, each latching onto an arm and glaring at the new arrival.

"Naru, who is this?" Naruto gulped loudly as Gina looked over at him, waiting for an answer to her question.

"Uhh..." Naruto's explanation was cut off as he tensed up at the third pair of arms that grabbed onto him, the shocked shinobi looking down at the woman he had saved in surprise, her heated glare flicking back and forth between the Diggers sisters.

"My name is Jaliera , please stop trying to browbeat the man that just saved my life. Naruto, who are these girls and why are they clinging to you like that?" Naruto began to sweat as Jaliera slowly tightened her arms around his neck, not leaving him any option of escape.

'Ah shit, I'm in BIG trouble...' Chuckling nervously, Naruto's nervous gaze met the Digger's sister's heated glares and the young man gulped as he looked at the woman hanging off of his neck. "Um, they're my..."

Brianna clung tightly to Naruto's arm and growled softly. "We're his girlfriends, now back off!"

Jaliera looked at both girls, then back at Naruto and grinned slyly, causing the trapped Shinobi to sweat as she pressed her body against the stiff man in her arms. 'Escape! Gotta escape! I could...yeah, I can kawarimi away, the log be praised as it delivers it's salvation unto me! Oh... oh hang on, that feels REALLY good... NO! Resist the temptation to feel good, man! Run you fool, run!' Naruto finally managed to free himself, his Kawarimi causing all the girls to hold onto a very large log with a death grip. The moment Naruto was free he immediately summoned his flight armor and rapidly said, I'MMAGONNAGOSCOUTTHEAREA!" This said, Naruto immediately took to the air, getting away from the terrifying feeling of jealously radiating off of all three women.

Moments after Naruto ran... I mean, began his scouting expedition, a loud cracking sound was heard as the log the three woman had been gripping succumbed to the intense pressure of their grips, disintegrating into slivers of mutilated wood. All three women then glared at each other, arcs of electricity flashing between their eyes and causing Penny and the others to back away.

"IT'S YOUR FAULT THAT NARU/STUD/NARUTO RAN OFF!" Penny sighed and slapped a hand over her eyes, wondering how this all could happen. As the three woman began to argue loudly Stripe separated himself from Brittany and walked towards them, clearing his throat loudly. All three women ignored him and continued to argue, Brianna and Gina's patience finally breaking as the reached for their weapons and an aura of energy surrounded Jaliera. Stripe sighed, took a deep breath and whistled sharply, causing everyone to stare at him.

"Now that I have everyone's attention, we have bigger things to worry about than who gets Naruto, like the planet being sucked dry of it's energy and my people being enslaved." Gina and Brianna looked at each other for a moment, and sighed as they holstered their weapons again. Stripe looked at Jaliera pointedly and the woman nodded, her aura vanishing as she turned to face everyone.

"Stripe is correct, we will settle this later. The architect of this entire battle is at the planetary focus right now, preparing to absorb the energy he needs to revive his diminished powers. Stripe, you know what to do. I'll send Naruto after you, it's up to the both of you now." Brittany eyes widened and she rushed forward but it was too late, Stripe had already disappeared in a flash of energy. All eyes focused on Jaliera, causing the woman to sigh as she faced the upcoming inquisition.

"As I said, I am Jaliera, Archon of the Kryn. I was the one that saved Stripe'Gia from his apparent death, creating a mental projection for the enemy to 'kill'. With the help of knowledge passed down by our ancestors I assisted Stripe in grafting his artifacts to his very being, allowing him to harness their power so that he could be the champion for our people that he was meant to be. I am glad to have finally met you all, your coming has been foretold for many years. And I must thank you, it's not every day a ruler's potential husband is delivered to her very feet by her competition."

Gina and Brianna's jaws immediately dropped at the words that Jaliera uttered, understanding who the woman was when she mentioned that she was an Archon. Brittany growled angrily and stepped forward, jabbing her finger into the shorter woman's sternum and leaned in untilwas right in Jaliera's face. "If you think I'm going to hand Stripe over to you..." Brittany's furious expression wavered at Jaliera's laughed lightly in response to what was said.

"Oh Brittany... I'm not talking about Stripe."

* * *

Naruto sighed again as he continued his flight over the devastated countryside of Aebra, wondering how complicated his life would get. 'First fifteen thousand years of my life, I couldn't make a real relationship work even if it was handed to me on a golden platter. Now I have two girlfriends and apparently a third girl is interested in me. Why kami, why me?!' Naruto landed on the ground, dismissing his helmet and allowing a cool breeze to ruffle his hair. Several moments later a soft chime grabbed his attention and Naruto growled, re-summoning his helmet , watching as Yang appeared in the HUD and grinned at him mischievously.

"So, I see two girls aren't enough for you eh? Your getting a call from Jaliera, she seems real interested in talking to you." Naruto hung his head as Yang activated the com system.

"Naruto? Sorry about what happened back there, but I needed you to leave your group for a little while, me and the girls had something to... discuss. Anyways, Stripe has gone after Rio, the Father of the Dynasty. You'll find them both at an inactive volcano to the south, I'm uploading the co-ordinates to your A.I and she will be able to guide you there. Good luck and we'll talk afterwards." Before Naruto could say a word the com link was broken and a flashing marker appeared on Naruto's HUD. As the Shinobi did a aerial u-turn and rocketed towards the coordinates he had received, he wondered what was happening with the others at that moment.

* * *

Jaliera lowered her com device and grinned cheekily at the Diggers sisters and their current predicaments. Gina growled and struggled futilely as she tried to escape Ace's tight grip and Brianna was trying to reach for Jaliera but was stopped cold as Brittany pushed her to the ground, not letting the half were cheetah have even a chance to use her enhanced strength on the alien woman before them. 'Well, this turned out about how I expected it to.' Penny sighed and stood in front of Jaliera, blocking the Digger's sister's view of the woman and causing them to stop struggling in confusion.

"Alright, that's enough! Everyone is going to calm down and act like a civilized person, that means both of you need to stop trying to kill the the leader of the Kryn for trying to steal your boyfriend. First off, how do you even know that Naruto is your 'potential husband' as you put it?" Gina and Brianna looked at each other and sighed, their friends and family releasing them as they waited for Jaliera's response.

Jaliera smiled softly as she touched her fingers to the middle of her forehead, a glowing symbol appearing at the point of contact. "Throughout our history the Kryn have created multiple artifacts, each with their own distinct powers and skills. When I took my place as the ruler of the Kryn I was tested to prove that I was the correct choice, my final test guided me to the artifact that would be bonded to me for the rest of my life. This artifact, the Eye of Clarity, allows me to see the possible paths of the present and short glimpses of the future, it is supposed to also allow it's bearer to see parts of the past as well but I have only been able to see one person's history with it, I'm sure you girls can guess who it was. All I know is that Naruto and I have some form of connection and many paths are opened now that we have met, including several where we are married." Jaliera looked towards the south and shed several tears, raising a hand to wipe the moisture from her eyes.

"And there are even a few that show me his death, one which could occur this very day."

Southern Ridge, location of the Planetary Focus

Rio folded his arms as he stretched his senses across the dormant volcano, feeling the teeming energy that was nearly withing his grasp. A flare of power caused the father of the Dynasty to smile as he looked above, seeing his wife Riel float down and settle on a ledge above him. "Ah, my lady, I see you have come to witness our final triumph."

"Husband, there is something amiss on this world. An unknown warrior that decimates our troops is running unchecked through the city, I fear he will attempt to stop you. Already he has incapacitated several of our children, all of whom are recovering on the Citadel ship as we speak." Rio's eyes narrowed as he turned back to the ether anchors, raising his hands and concentrating on the flow of energy that surrounded him, deciding that he had waited long enough.

"RIO! STOP THIS MADNESS!" Rio opened his eyes and slowly turned around, his gaze settling on the young Kryn Prince, Stripe.

"Ah, the young Prince, I see the reports of your death have been greatly exaggerated. Allow me to resolve that!" Rio raised his hands and a blast of energy slammed into the startled Stripe, throwing him to the ground. Rio vanished and a moment later he crouched at the side of the fallen Stripe, grasping his neck and stood up, holding the weakened Kryn aloft.

"The audacity! You dare confront me? Your arrogance shall be your undoing, insect!" Rio's hand was glowing brightly with power as he thrust it into Stripe's stomach, sending the Kryn crashing towards the far wall where he lay in a crumpled heap. Stripe groaned as he stood shakily, gathering the last of his power and preparing for what may be his last action in this life as he flew towards Rio, his entire being focused on his final strike. Rio smirked as he raised his hand, a force barrier stopping the reckless charge towards him. Reaching down Rio grasped the top of Stripe's head and held him up once more.

"Farewell young prince, you should have known that it was futile to challenge your betters." Rio pressed his hand to Stripe's chest and delivered a point blank blast of ethereal energy and turned away from the falling body, a look of satisfaction as he removed this latest nuisance from his sight. As Rio began to walk away he heard a clattering sound that stopped him in his tracks. 'That is not the sound of a body hitting the ground, what devilry ...' Rio spun around and stared at the floor where Stripe's body should have been resting, but in it's place was a large log with a hole burned through it. "A log?"

Rio's eyes widened as his instincts warned him of approaching attack but it was too late, the powerful falling axe kick driving the patriarch to his knees. A growl grew in Rio's throat as he looked above him, only to stare in shock at the being in front of him. Ice cold blue eyes and a no nonsense face met the leader of the Dynasty's gaze, causing the man to feel a trickle of fear directed towards the being before him due to the massive aura of energy that surrounded him.

"So you're the asshole that's causing all this trouble. I think you need an ass kicking and I'm more than happy to provide it."

Rio grimaced as he shakingly stood, gingerly touching his forehead and seeing blood. "You actually wounded me... who are you?"

"Name's Naruto... and I'm going to be your worst nightmare the rest of your very short life."

At the top of the volcano

Stripe groaned as he was helped to his feet, a clone of Naruto holding him steady as they both stood at the top of the volcano. "Thank you my friend, I do not think I would have survived that last blast."

The clone grinned as he slapped Stripe on the shoulder, then turned back towards the looming battle below them. The colones gaze was focus on the woman standing on a ledge above Rio and the real Naruto, a female that was preparing to jump in and provide assistance to her fellow member of the Dynasty. "Think you can take tall and ugly down there?" Stripe took a deep breath and grinned at the clone, rocketing forward towards the unsuspecting woman and the battle was joined.

With Rio and Naruto

Rio snarled savagely as raised his hand, a weak blast forcing Naruto to jump away and giving him a moment to breath. Once he was ready, Rio raised his arms above his head, a large sphere of energy forming as he smirked at the surprised look on Naruto's face. Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the energy blast bearing down on him and grabbed a what looked like a knife and tossed it to the far side of the volcano just before the blast could hit him. An explosion of power caused Rio to laugh in triumph, believing that he had killed Naruto with that attack, but his joy soon turned to ashes in his mouth as he felt a strong hand grab his shoulder, haul him around and intense pain as a fist buried itself in Rio's stomach. Looking up the leader of the Dynasty growled at the smirking face of the blonde hair interloper above him, energy gathering in his hand for another blast to wipe that look off his face but a sudden glow of energy where Naruto's fist had just been buried caused Rio to look down, seeing a swirling sphere of chaotic energy in his opponents' hand. Naruto rammed the condensed sphere into Rio's already hurting stomach, sending the man spinning into the wall of the volcano, createring the wall from the intense impact.

Rio gasped as he tried to regain his breath, the exchange that just occurred giving him some insight on the man he was fighting. 'His hand to hand abilities are astonishing! His strength and energy usage are on par with my own, but it appears he has no long range attacks...' Freeing himself from the cratered wall Rio launched himself into the air and decided to test this theory, sending blast after blast at the annoyingly nimble insect before him. Every blast was dodged expertly, but the only response from the man were several throwing knives that bounced off of Rio's force wall. Smirking as he continued his assault, Rio continued his barrage, confident that the pest before him would falter sooner or later. But as he continued his confidence soon turned to fury as not only did Naruto expertly dodge his barrage, he also appeared to be able to teleport around the cavern, almost catching Rio when he had strayed to close to one of the many ledges that littered the volcano's interior. Exasperated at the pests failure to die, Rio glared at Naruto while he tried to think of a way to end this conflict quickly. A loud blast to his right caught the edge of Rio's vision and he saw the other pest, Stripe, attacking his wife on a far ledge and Rio smirked, a plan forming quickly as events unfolded before him. Rio powered up another blast and suddenly spun, firing the attack directly at Stripe, the thin concentrated beam of energy stabbing towards the unsuspecting Kryn. Rio grinned savagely as he felt the displacement of air behind him signifying that Naruto had teleported once more and laughed maniacally as he saw him appear in the path of the beam, having knocked Stripe out of the way of the attack.

With Naruto

'Crap crap crap! No time for a clone!' Naruto teleported to the mark that was on Stripe, knocking the shocked Kryn to the ground just before the beam hit him, hoping that the armor that the girls had made for him could dissipate the blast enough that he'd be able to keep fighting. Naruto's eyes widened as the beam sliced through his armor as if it weren't even there, piercing his right lung and exiting out of his back, causing the man to fall forward as if he were a puppet that had it's strings cut. Riel watched the man fall and growled as she wiped a trail of blood from her nose, taking the opportunity to kick the prone man off the ledge and watched in satisfaction as he impacted with the ground.

Stripe shook his head from the rough landing and looked up, his eyes widening as he saw Naruto hit the ground, fear clutching at his heart when the man failed to rise again. Looking up in anger Stripe watched as both Rio and Riel floated towards him, identical looks of contempt on their faces.

"And now, only you remain, young prince... farewell!" Rio raised his arm once more, energy gathered for the final blow but he suddenly stopped, a look of shock on his face as he spun around and stared at the still body of Naruto. At that moment the volcano shook fiercely, a brilliant aura of red energy radiating out from Naruto's still body. As the three beings watched, Naruto's arm twitched and ever so slowly it pushed the once still body upwards, allowing all of them to see something that boggled their minds. The hole in Naruto's chest was swathed in the same red energy but all of the beings before him could see the hole burned into his chest quickly shrinking until it looked as if it had never existed. As Naruto slowly stood, he looked up and everyone gasped in surprise at the dramatic change in his appearance. Scarlet eyes with slit pupils focused on the floating pair, a vicious snarl displayed a set of very sharp canines and the whisker like marks on Naruto's cheeks had widened considerably, causing everyone to back away in fear.

**"Alright, who tried to kill the kid!?"**

Moments earlier

As Gina and the others were making their way to a safer location, a sudden pain in Gina's chest caused her to stumble, her sister's catching her before she hit the ground. In front of them Jaliera suddenly spun around, tears flowing down her cheeks as she covered her mouth.

"No... Naruto..." The saddened monarch fell to her knees, sobbing as she felt Naruto's life slipping away. Just as the last thread of his life was about to pass, a sudden influx of energy caused Jaliera to gasp, a feeling of malevolent energy replacing the soothing feeling that she had felt from the moment she had found Naruto. A sudden earthquake rocked the land, causing everyone to fall to their knees as a wave of scarlet energy flew overhead. Jaliera felt worried at the energy that had appeared until she realized where it was coming from. "He's awake...Kurama!"

With Kurama

**'Oh sure, fall asleep for fifteen thousand years and what do I get? Kid's body is completely messed up, completely unconscious and if I hadn't been able to open the final lock with that last blast of energy he'd be dead! Oh we are SO going to have a talk about this later. But first...'** Looking up, Kurama smirked evilly as he watched the pair of floating people above him back away slowly, their fear an almost palpable feeling in the air. Holding his hands in front of him, Kurama continued to grin as he gathered chakra in his hands, creating a extremely condensed sphere of black energy. **"Hey, you call that an attack? HERE'S AN ATTACK! CHO MINI BIJUDAMA!"** The marble sized attack rocketed away from Kurama's hands so quickly it almost appeared to teleport itself directly between Rio and his wife. As the pair looked at the black sphere between them in shock it exploded, throwing Riel and Rio to opposite sides of the volcano as if they were nothing more than rag dolls. Stripe braced himself against the shockwave, marveling at the power his friend was displaying.

Rio groaned as he struggled to stand, that last attack having seriously wounded him. Looking at the now feral looking man, Rio couldn't help but feel fear as he saw Naruto standing in a sea of flames, not even concerned about what was happening around him, as if the power he had just used was nothing. As Naruto raised his hand again and ghostly scarlet arm stretched forth, reaching for the injured Rio and swiftly grabbed him. Rio struggled futilely against his entrapment, not able to move as he was slammed against the ground repeatedly, the beating taking it's toll as Rio struggled to stay conscious. Finally the scarlet appendage threw the beaten man to the ground, his body bouncing several times until his hit one of his ether anchors. The defeated man reached for the anchor and pulled himself onto it, gasping for breath as he heard the sound of footsteps approaching him.

"Fl-flee!" Kurama slowed as the massive machine rose from the ground and rose into the sky towards the floating fortress. Once the massive structure disappeared Kurama let out a deep breath and turned to the final occupant of the volcano, a very shocked Stripe.

**"I'm guessing your a friend of the kid's? Good, cause in about ten seconds I'm going to crash and he really could use some medical attention."** True to his assessment, Kurama fell to his knees and then flat on his face, snoring loudly as Stripe looked at his friend.

"What the hell just happened?"

Aboard the Citadel-ship

Rio groaned as he dragged himself to his command chair, his breath short as he experiences something he hadn't had to worry about for millions of years, pain. Just as the ship was about to enter Quasi space once more an alarm began to blare as explosions were heard throughout the ship. Sigma burst through the ventilation shaft of the bridge and laughed as he saw the sorry condition of the once proud leader of the Dynasty.

"Well, looks like you had your ass handed to you. Now me and my boys have done some... redecorating of your ship, kind of a going away present and a warning... never, ever, come back here." A blast of smoke was the final indication that someone had been on the bridge with Rio, the man deciding that it was in his best interest to heed the warning... for now.


	14. Chapter 14

Well, the poll is closed and the votes are in, Stripe is going byebye! BUT! This does not mean that Brittany is just going to jump at Naruto, oh no, I'm going to have some fun with this one! And we may not have seen the last of Stripe either! Now, on with the chapter!

Naruto slowly returned to the land of the living, his breathing unchanged as he took stock of his situation. 'Low chakra, Kurama's healing up the last of the injuries, both girls in the bed with me and holding onto my hands... wait a minute, KURAMA?!'

**'Don't yell baka, I'm tired and it's the middle of the night. Lemme sleep a few more hours.'**

Naruto sighed internally, happy to hear the voice of his closest comrade once more. Turning his attention back to his current surroundings Naruto tried to think of a way to get out of the bed without letting the girls realize he had done so. 'Looks like their learning, they've occupied my hands so I can't form any signs... very sneaky, girls.' Naruto moved his hand minutely, as if he were in a dream and his muscles had twitched, but the tightening grip on the shinobi's hand stopped him cold. A moan to his left caused Naruto to look over and see the bleary eyes gaze of Brianna, a gaze that was immediately hidden as she buried her face back into his chest.

"Stop moving and go back to sleep Naruto, your not getting out of this bed till the sun's up." Brianna sleep laced voice caused Naruto to relax, the young woman yawning as she nestled herself closer to the warm body that had been co-opted as a body pillow. Gina grumbled cutely and entangled her legs with Naruto's, seemingly sensing that he was thinking of escaping. Naruto harrumphed softly and used his thumbs the rub circles on the backs of each hand he held, causing Brianna to giggle and kiss his chest softly. "Love you too stud, now sleep, you need it to recover." Gina made several happy sounds and sleepily nuzzled against his neck, the relaxing feeling of the intimacy he was sharing with his girlfriends helping Naruto fall back asleep quickly.

From the doorway Jaliera watched the scene before her with a wistful smile, seeing the love that was evident between all three people in the bed before her. 'Too cute...' Turning around the Archon of the Kryn silently closed the door and made her way down the hall, almost dreading the amount of work that was waiting for her in her personal quarters. Most of the population of Aebra had originally been scattered into smaller towns and villages before the Dynasty had come, some families having lived together for generations. At the first sign of attack many of them had managed to scatter, allowing the Dynasty to target the larger cities that were full of the Kryn military forces and the lifeblood of their economy. News of the Dynasty's defeat had quickly reached the scattered refugee's ears and just as quickly they traveled to the lone city that still stood after the final battle. The city's infrastructure was being severely taxed with the influx of people that were arriving each day but Jaliera refused to turn them away, hoping that they could find some sort of way to overcome this new ordeal. Stopping in the hall, Jaliera closed her eyes for a moment, the Eye of Clarity glowing briefly as she looked into the possible future paths that awaited her people. Looking over her shoulder, an enigmatic smile spread across her face as she looked at the room she had just vacated and giggled, knowing that what ever came Naruto would be sure to make a huge impact with her people.

**Chapter 14**

Early morning sunlight streamed through the open shades, causing Naruto to crack open his eyes tiredly, the nearly empty bed now cold, his bed mates had left him to continue sleeping. Yawning loudly the young shinobi sat up and stretched until his back popped at which point he began a mental checklist of his body. 'Well, seems to be all back to normal, guess it's time to check on Fuzzy.' Naruto dove into his mindscape, appearing in a sewer and walking towards the large form of his partner in crime, Kurama. The massive being shifted it's head as it heard the sound of Naruto's footsteps, rising up and sitting on it's haunches as Naruto came to a stop before it.

"**Hmph, finally up I see. About time, you gave all your friends a pretty big scare."**

"How bad was it?"

"**Punctured lung, the blast just missed nicking you heart. It was a close one, but it also set me free, allowing me to kick start your healing factor into overdrive again. Consider yourself lucky that you had that fight with those midgets before this mission, if you hadn't I wouldn't have been able to break free of the containment seal and we would've both died."**

"So, you were able to see what was going on outside of the containment seal huh? Well, I think I'll take a look around the place, get my bearings. But before that... thanks for the help Kurama, it's good to have you back." Kurama smirked as he laid down on the ground once more.

"**Just member to take it easy, your chakra is extremely low right now so you should take it easy for a while. That last seal almost didn't come off, I had to shatter it with a massive burst of chakra, that and the Cho Bijudama I used basically wiped out both of our reserves. And no worries kid, I had to make sure that your mates didn't have a reason to come after me if you died. Like hell I want three pissed of females trying finding me after I reformed." ** Kurama laughed at the stammered denial of Jaliera being one of his mates, causing Naruto to growl as he exited his mindscape. Grumbling about annoying foxes, Naruto swiped a finger along a seal on his forearm, a set of casual clothes appearing in his hands with a poof of smoke. Just as Naruto was about to get dressed a voice interrupted him.

"Eh hem, where do you think you're going?" Naruto froze at the sound of the voice and slowly turned his head to answer, but as soon as his eyes landed on the person behind him the ability to speak coherently suddenly abandoned him. Gina was leaning against the doorjamb of what Naruto assumed was a bathroom, and all she was wearing was a smirk and a very short, very sexy silk robe. Gina walked towards her stunned boyfriend, looped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly, holding the kiss for several moments before pulling back and looking Naruto in the eye. "I think someone needs a bath, care to join me?" Naruto finally woke up, trying to grab onto the grinning vixen before him but she spun away from Naruto's grasping hands and sashayed back to the bathroom, undoing the sash of her robe and letting it drop to the ground once she reached the door. As Naruto focused on the firm naked body before him a giggle drew his attention upward, his shocked expression meeting Gina's over the shoulder come-hither look just before she reentered the bathroom.

"**Hmmm, not bad, I'd go after her if I were you. Imma gonna leave you two alone for a while." **Naruto nodded dumbly as he dropped the clothes from his now slack fingers, walked towards the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

Several hours later

Naruto grinned softly as Gina murmured in contentment from his bed, completely drained from their workout and sleeping soundly. Kissing her cheek softly, Gina continued murmuring something in her sleep as Naruto rose from the bed, dressed quietly and exited the room. As Naruto exited his room he stopped when he saw the pair of guards standing at attention on either side of his door. "Uh... so, how good is the sound proofing of these rooms?" Both guards struggled to keep an impassive look on their faces, causing Naruto to grin. "Ok... could one of you tell me how to get out of this place?." Naruto tried not to laugh as the guard that answered him refused to look him in the eye, detailing the basic layout of the palace and how to exit it. When asked if the guards had seen Brianna they both gave Naruto a look of envy and said she had left the palace earlier in the day. Naruto cocked his head at the strange behavior and shrugged, walking the path that was outlined for him.

Before Naruto could get a hundred meters from the guards, an arm appeared out of nowhere as the shinobi passed an open door, grabbed Naruto by the shoulder and hauled him into the room he was beside, a familiar blonde looking out at the pair of guards and flashing them a victory sign before slamming the door shut. Both guards watched the entire episode and looked at each other with identical thoughts.

'Lucky bastard.'

Later that afternoon

Naruto relaxed as he held a content Brianna in his arms, the sated young woman resting on his chest and listening to the beat of her lover's heart. As Naruto ran his fingers absently through Brianna's hair, a single question was begging to be asked and the young man decided to finally ask it. "Ok, what's wrong?"

Brianna rose partial from her comfortable position, a denial already prepared for the question, but when she saw the face before her it died quickly. Lowering her gaze, Brianna muttered something nearly unintelligible as she laid back down against Naruto. Many would have had the woman repeat it but Naruto heard enough of her mumbling to piece it together. "We almost lost you."

Sighing softly, Naruto ran his hand along Brianna's bare shoulder, marveling at how soft it was as he remembered his younger years. "Hmph, that's no surprise. You've both seen me at my best, a fully trained and highly skilled shinobi. But when I was a kid, oh man, I got destroyed constantly. Seriously, I lost count of the number of times I should have died" Brianna looked up, tears shimmering in her eyes as she listened to Naruto describe some of his more... demanding battles.

"Why are you telling me this?" Naruto sat up and pulled Brianna into his lap, kissing the woman softly and wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Because, you both need to realize I don't always come out of a fight in perfect condition. I will bleed, I will need to stay in a hospital most likely and I will scare you both shitless as I take insane amounts of punishment. But, there is one thing you both need to remember." Naruto kissed Brianna deeply, the woman moaning as she straddled Naruto and returned the kiss with zeal. Resting his forehead against Brianna's he stared into her eyes and grinned. "I always keep my promises... and I promise that I'll always come back to you both." Brianna let out a watery giggle and kissed Naruto again, holding him in her arms as her tears trickled down her cheeks. Naruto grinned as his fingers trailed up and down Brianna's spine, causing the woman to purr in happiness. "Now, what else is bothering you two?" Brianna's eyes opened wide as she stared at Naruto in shock, the shinobi chuckling at the expression. "Blame Sakura-chan and Hinata, they taught me how to tell when a woman is bothered by something. I can tell there's something else your not telling me and I will find out... oh yes, I will." Naruto's hands reached out and tickled the blonde in his lap, causing Brianna to shriek, forcing the blonde to grab onto her writhing body as she tried to squirm out of his hands.

"OK! I give, I give! We're worried about Jaliera bagging you! STOP THAT!" Naruto stopped immediately, his eyes wide as he looked at a red faced Brianna that was trying to get her breathing under control. Brianna laid back down, resting against Naruto's neck as she softly spoke. "We're both worried that she'll get you and we'll be left alone." Naruto chuckled softly as he wrapped his arms around Brianna, causing the woman to bristle slightly at the laugh before relaxing in Naruto's arms.

"You know I'd have to be a real ass to just drop you two for something that Jaliera said. I'll be honest, she is beautiful, but I just met her. Plus, she's going to be here on Aebra while we head back to earth. Have a little faith in me, I may be insane but I am loyal. You're both stuck with me till you can't handle it anymore." Naruto grinned as he kissed Brianna's nose, causing the woman to giggle. Pulling himself out from under Brianna, Naruto rose from and began to gather his clothes as Brianna stretched out on the large bed, resting her chin on her folded arms.

"Come on, stay in bed with me, you need to relax more often." Naruto laughed as he pulled his shirt of his head, kissed Brianna's temple as she stretched out on the bed.

"Sorry Hime, not today. I'll be back later." Brianna sighed as he covered her nude body with a blanket, the tired woman falling asleep quickly as Naruto exited the room and quickly made his way out of the palace.

A massive courtyard spread out before him, the memories of Naruto's clones allowing him to remember the battle his clones had fought here. Walking towards the center of the courtyard Naruto narrowed his eyes, seeing that there no people at all in the center of the city other than a few pairs of patrolling guards. Sitting on the ground Indian style by a now empty pedestal, Naruto closed his eyes and stretched his chakra senses out, attempting to locate the people he assumed would be returning to the now freed city. A large mass of life energy was located on the outskirts, confusing the shinobi even more. 'Hey Kurama, ready for a little action?' A loud chuckle was Naruto's only response as he accessed his partner's long dormant energy, standing tall as his form was covered in a golden nimbus of power. Naruto had forgotten how his Chakra mode felt, the raw power at his disposal as well as his enhanced senses. Stretching these senses out a frown appeared on Naruto's face as he was bombarded by a multitude of emotions from the people on the city outskirts.

'Fear, anger, despair... yeah, I think it's time we find out what's going on here.' Naruto opened his eyes as his Chakra mode quickly ended, just as a pair of guards had stopped in front of him. Naruto gave the pair a brief nod as he leapt towards a distant building, rapidly making his way away from the center of the city, leaving the awed guards to wonder where he was heading.

* * *

Spardus, captain of Archon Jaliera's Guards, sighed explosively as his men attempted to calm the large mob of people before him, several of his men pushing the more unruly people back from the line of guards. Unfortunately they were unsuccessful as the frightened and hungry mob couldn't understand that they did not want to keep them out of the city, but they were doing this for the peoples own safety as the capitol was still a disaster area, several buildings having collapsed recently and causing the Archon to stop her people from possibly walking to their own deaths. His patience finally spent, Spardus growled softly as he strode towards the now angry mob, raised his battle staff and slammed it into the ground, causing the people the shrink away as a thunderclap sounded across the plain. "My fellow Kryn! We are not here to stop you from entering the city so that you cannot rest and recover, but we are here to make sure that you do not enter into what could be your own deaths! Already too many of our people have died in a senseless war, we do not wish to add more to the count because we could not wait until we are sure the area is safe! We ask for your understanding and patience, we will help you but not before we are sure that you will be safe."

As Spardus took a moment to see if his words would have any effect a large male Kryn stepped forward and gestured angrily at the Captain. "You would keep us from that which we need, that which we are entitled to! We have sick and wounded that require shelter and care, not petty words of comfort! If you will not help us we will take what we need, by force if need be!" Spardus sighed as the mob shouted as one, their anger stirred once again.

Just as the captain was about to order his men to force the people back, a dagger appeared in the ground and a brilliant flash of light caused many Kryn to fall to the ground, covering their eyes from the blinding flare of light. All eyes focused on the scene before them as a young man reached down, grabbed the dagger and quickly placed in a pouch on his hip, a serious gaze sweeping over the crowd of Kryn before him. Spardus sighed in relief, recognizing the man that the Archon had brought to the palace, the very man that had ended the senseless violence against his people. 'Maybe he'll have better luck getting the masses to calm down.'

Naruto looked at the multitude of people before him and then turned back towards the guards, his serious gaze switching to one of annoyance in a moment. "Someone better explain what is happening here. Now." As one of the guards stepped forward and quickly explained the situation to Naruto, he closed his eyes and nodded, having been exposed to the same situation after Pain destroyed Konoha. "I get it, leave this to me." Reaching into the pouch at his hip Naruto pulled out some sealing supplies and placed them on the ground. Raising his hands he created a dozen clones and pointed to a nearby section of land. "Start right there guys, I'll let'em know what's happening." As the clones scooped up the materials and loudly made their way towards the indicated plot of land, Naruto turned back to the now silent and wary throng of people, their eyes following the unknown stranger intently that seemed to be able to make copies of himself.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I'm also known as the Toad Sage of Konoha. I know what it is like to lose your homes, the fear that drives you to do desperate things as you try to make sense of what happened and protect the ones you love. I know what it's like to lose a home, many years ago a man that was hunting me destroyed my village while searching for me, he attacked my village while I was away training to become strong enough to protect which was most important to me. After I returned, I kicked the idiot's ass and saved my people. The civilians of our village reacted in a very similar manner to all of you, they were scared and confused as the military and I did what we could to protect them and rebuild our homes at the same time. I know it's not much but until the city is safe for you to inhabit again I can provide you shelter and I'll see what I can do to get you the supplies you need. We just finished a war, let not start fighting with each other."

Claudus watched as the people looked at each other, as if debating whether to trust this unknown person or take what they needed. The apparent leader of the mob stepped forward and looked down at the man that had spoken to them all, his angry stare locking onto Naruto. Naruto merely grinned as he adopted a relaxed stance, his clones in the background jokingly arguing as they continued to create a very large seal on the ground. Finally the large Kryn sighed and stepped back, rejoining the group of refugees and allowing everyone to breath a sigh of relief. Naruto walked forward and clapped the man on his shoulder and proudly gestured at his now waiting clones. "Now, I suck at the original version of this technique but, with the help of an old buddy named Yamato, I managed to make an alternate method that should be perfect to help you all out." As Naruto finished he turned towards his clones and grinned, a rumbling sound caused the Kryn behind him to step back in fear, then stop and stare in awe as a large stone building rose from the ground.

"Fuin: Shichūka no Jutsu. So, how many people we looking at housing today?" Before anyone could answer his question, a loud explosion of smoke revealed fifty new clones, all of which immediately ran towards the city. "Oh and look, a group of runners to get supplies and food that can avoid any dangerous situation. So, anyone else have a problem that needs solving?"

* * *

Jaliera stretched as she exited her room, deciding to take a break and see what had been happening today. As the leader of the Kryn passed Naruto's room, a smirk appeared as a disheveled Gina exited the suite and nearly ran into her, the distracted girl apologizing profusely for almost running Jaliera down. "It's ok Gina, calm down. Now, what's with the rush?"

Gina crossed her arms behind her back and looked away from Jaliera as she mumbled her answer. The Archon grinned as she leaned closer, having an idea what was going on. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that? I didn't quite catch what you said." Gina glared at Jaliera as she spun on her heel, stalking away in anger.

"I'm going to find Naruto! I know you heard me the first time!" Jaliera laughed softly as she quickly caught up with the anger Gina and grabbed her wrist, pulling her towards the Palace exit.

"Well, if you'll follow me, we'll go find him together. I'd like to see what he's doing as well." Gina growled softly but decided it was best to follow the ruler, since it appeared that she knew where Naruto was. The pair exited the palace and found an irate Brianna interrogating a pair of guards, gesturing wildly as she yelled at the pair. Gina and Jaliera both looked at each other, sighed and decided to rescue the men from Brianna's anger.

* * *

"YOU JUST LET HIM LEAVE? HE WAS OUT FOR THREE DAYS AFTER ALMOST BEING KILLED! ARE YOU STUPID OR WHAT?!" Brianna's hands shot up and just before the enraged woman could grab the guard's breastplate and pull him closer, two sets of arms grabbed Brianna's shoulders and pulled her back. Brianna looked back in shock at the serious gazes of Gina and Jaliera, their expressions causing the angry woman to pause in her rant.

"Corporal, continue with your patrol, I'll handle this." One hurried bow later and the two guards were running for the far side of the courtyard, well out of range of the irate woman that had nearly attacked them. When the men left Jaliera and Gina let Brianna go and stared at the woman, waiting for an explanation with equally stern gazes.

"Um... hi?" Brianna chuckled nervously as she started to back away, wincing when she hit the pedestal that Naruto had sat by mere hours before.

"Brianna..." Gina gave her sister her best 'you got some 'splaing to do!' look and even though Brianna was used to it, she cracked almost immediately.

"Ok, fine! I wanted to find Naruto, but when those guards told me he ran out of here I got a little annoyed. I mean he just woke up, he should be taking it easy. He may be tough but he's not indestructible." Gina and Jaliera both looked at each other, nodded and grabbed Brianna's arms and started to drag her into the city. "Hey, lemme go! I mean it, lemme go you two!"

Unknown to the girls, they were being observed from a room on the upper level of the palace, a morose Stripe watching the trio interact as they entered the city. A door opened and Stripe glanced over his shoulder, seeing his adviser Primus enter and bow his head briefly.

"It is as we feared, Lord Stripe. I am sorry but there is nothing that can be done." Turning away from the scene before him, Stripe sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he came to a decision.

"I'll inform them tonight."

* * *

As soon as the trio of women entered the city Jaliera used her telekinetic abilities to quickly traverse the most dangerous places in their path, her telekinetic bubble carrying the woman high into the sky above the capitol. Both Gina and Brianna kept their eyes peeled to the ground, worried that they would miss Naruto as Jaliera had her eyes closed, concentrating on maintaining her telekinetic field. Gina looked back at Jaliera for a moment before asking the question that had been bothering her for a while now. "Jaliera? Why aren't you just using your clairvoyance to find Naruto?"

A light laugh caused Gina to look at the woman in front of her and narrow her eyes in irritation. "My powers aren't a light switch Gina. They rarely work when I want them to and even when they do tell me the future, they usually don't tell me what I want to know, but what I need to know. Otherwise I could have prepared my people for the invasion of the Dynasty and hunkered down to wait for all of you to arrive with Naruto." Gina looked at Jaliera's somber face, turning back towards the ruined city after deciding that she had said all that should be said for now.

Several minutes later the Diggers women and Jaliera reached the outskirts of the city, the lookouts crowing in triumph as they spotted their quarry. One quick word later and Jaliera rapidly descended, landing beside a hunched over Naruto that was drinking from a water flask and taking deep breaths as he appeared to be resting. All three women rushed forward, concerned that Naruto was still weakened from his latest experience but the content look on his face calmed the girls quickly.

"Hey ladies, you finally came to join us?" Each girl looked at each other in confusion, then looked up at the plain before them and as one they gasped in awe. Hundreds of large buildings were spaced across the once barren and war torn plain, each appearing large enough to hold dozens of people easily. To their left was a much larger building that appeared to be some kind of warehouse, where the guard contingent that had been trying to stop people from entering the city were helping twenty clones to hand out food and medicine to the refugees. A round of happy laughter caused the women to look to their right and all three giggled as they watched multitudes of children playing on various playground equipment, several clones acting as if they were the children as they kept them busy and out from underfoot. Jaliera dropped to her knees beside Naruto and watched him take a slow swig of his water, her grateful gaze never leaving his face as he breathed deeply, closing his eyes and listening to the people around him. "There was so much fear, so much anger coming from your people that I had to do something. Hopefully it'll be enough, cause right now, I'm tapped out. I think I'm going to need a hand getting back to the palace." Jaliera quickly grabbed onto his forearm and helped the shinobi stand, tears coming to her eyes as the sounds of her people's happiness reached her ears.

"But why? You've already done so much for us, you didn't need to do this." Naruto grinned as Jaliera put Naruto's arm over her shoulders and helped him walk towards his girlfriends.

"It's because I can. Now, lets head back, I have a feeling that this day's surprises aren't over yet." Just as Naruto reached his girls a cheer broke out as the refugees acknowledged their savior, the man that had freed them from not just their enemies but also their fears. Turning back, Naruto stood tall and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment then waved to the people, Gina and Brianna walking forward to put Naruto's arms over their shoulders, supporting him as his new fans shouted out their thanks. Moments later Jaliera lifted everyone into the sky and the foursome disappeared back into the city, the people now convinced that they would survive.

* * *

Naruto leaned comfortably against Gina, her hand slowly running through his hair as the group made their way back to the palace. "Now what did I tell you about working yourself to exhaustion? It cuts into a our nookie time, so stop doing that." Naruto chuckled softly as he pulled Gina's free hand to his lips and kiss her palm softly. Brianna stretched out in to telekinetic bubble and rested her head on Naruto's stomach and almost started to purr when one if his hands massaging her scalp gently. Jaliera, meanwhile was watching the scene before her with a pout, the concentration needed to maintain the bubble preventing her from joining in.

'So unfair, I want to cuddle with him too, he looks like a great body pillow.' Several minutes later the group landed in the courtyard once more, Naruto waving off the girls as he slowly stood under his own power, reaching into his pouch and popping several soldier pills in his mouth.

'It may not be as good as getting some rest but that should give me enough energy to handle anything for the rest of the day.' As the group slowly walked into the palace, Naruto froze for a moment, the girls looking at him in concern.

"Wait, where are the others?"

On the other side of the planet

"Dig faster me boyos! We be rich, rich I say!"

"Penny, why are we over here girl?"

"Well, I did blow a lot of my money on the Visigoth, so think of this as... reimbursement."

Back at the Palace

Naruto laughed loudly as he followed the girls into the palace, waving at the approaching form of Brittany. Moments later Naruto's laughter stopped as he saw the concerned look on the were-cheetah's face, his protective instincts coming to the front.

"Hey Cheets, what's wrong?" Brittany looked at her friend and sighed, a look of frustration replacing her earlier one of concern.

"It's Stripe. Pretty much since we arrived here, he's been avoiding me. It all started when a group of the 'nobility' pulled him aside to talk about something they said was 'very important'." As Brittany let out an exasperated sigh, simmered in her anger, Naruto looked back at Brianna, Gina and Jaliera. Both of the Diggers sisters were shrugging their shoulders, confused at the new of Stripe's new behavior, but Jaliera had a guilty expression that caused Naruto's eyes to narrow as he had a sneaking suspicion that there was more going on than a 'simple discussion.' Walking towards the silent woman, Naruto gently grabbed her forearm and pulled her away form the group, ignoring the protests of his girlfriends as he disappeared in a flash of light. The pair appeared in Naruto's room where he let go of Jaliera's arm and looked at her sternly.

"Alright, tell me what's happening."

* * *

Stripe ran a hand tiredly over his face, the documents that he had been reading seemed nothing more than a jumble of words as he leaned back in the comfortable chair he had been using, his eyes sliding shut as he decided to take a break from the monotony. A loud shout from outside of his room caused the young Prince to cock an eyebrow and stand, wondering what the commotion was about. Moments later one of the guards that had been assigned to him came flying through the door of his room, groaning as he lay crumpled at Stripe's feet. Seconds later a loud meaty thump was heard and the wall beside the door shook and the man causing the disturbance stalked into the room, a furious Naruto glaring at Stripe. Stripe, the ever eloquent Prince that he was trained to be, finally decided on the words he needed to sum up this situation. "Oh, fuck me..."

Naruto walked forward, his hand latching onto the stunned Prince's shirt and pulling him close. Not a second after this occurred a breathless Jaliera burst through the door, her eyes wild with fear. "No, Naruto! Don't hurt him!" Stripe watched as the blonde shinobi he thought of as a friend slowly turn his gaze and look at the frightened women. Turning back towards his captive audience, Naruto clenched his fist tighter.

"I'm not going to kill him. We're going to have a little... chat." A flash of light blinded Stripe and the young man was suddenly introduced to the joys of traveling via Hiraishin. Stripe moaned as he fell to the group, his stomach strenuously objecting to the instantaneous travel as he threw up his last meal, groaning softly as he finished retching. "Yeah, sorry bout that, unless I use my chakra to make the ride smoother, that technique will really mess with you. Course, considering how pissed I am with you right now, I'm actually not sorry about that and you're lucky I didn't just gut you where you stood." Stripe groaned as he stood up, his eyes blinking as he looked at the burned out tower that Naruto had transported him to. Looking back at the glaring man before him, Stripe took a deep breath before speaking.

"I can't blame you for that, I'm assuming you know now?" At the glare that Stripe received in response to his question the Prince sighed, sitting down on a piece of rubble as he rubbed the bridge of his nose as his stomach slowly settled. "Who told you?"

"Jaliera, I had to nearly pry the information out of her, but she only told me the basics." Stripe nodded slowly then looked up at the still standing man, his entire posture screaming the anger he felt.

"Well then, I better fill in the rest that you don't know. El Dorado was the brain child of one of my ancestors, a king named Blaze that ruled over eight thousand years ago. It was originally designed to seed colonies across the stars to expand our numbers and then, when it's mission was done to return to Aebra. As it was his idea, Blaze decided that it was his responsibility to accompany the ship on it's voyage. The nobility, the bastards that they are, decided that this was a ludicrous idea and wanted Blaze to hand over control of his people to them while he was gone. Of course, the nobles were power hungry, corrupt and self serving, meaning that Blaze decided to mess with them before he left."

"Heh, sounds like the majority of the council from my old village, damn civilian bastards always tried to screw with me when I was younger. Keep going." Stripe nodded as he continued his tale.

"Blaze decided to name a magistrate of his court as the Archon, a leader for his people in his absence. You already know what happened when we reached Earth so we'll skip that part, during the crash we lost the ability to communicate with our home planet until Jan and Rol arrived earlier this year on Earth. Before Blaze left, the nobility demand a provision to be added to his decision to appoint an interim ruler. If a descendant of Blaze returned to the planet than the current Archon would be dismissed from their position with no chance to claim it again and said descendant would then take his or her place as the ruler of the Kryn. After our battle with Rio, the nobles tracked me down quickly and informed me of the situation and what would occur if I declined my birthright. If I do not take my place as the ruler of the Kryn than the responsibility will fall to the nobles to lead my people." Stripe looked at the impassive face of Naruto and waited for his response.

"And? So what? You don't belong here, hell you didn't even seem to want to come here until you heard they were in trouble! Stripe, you're MARRYING Brittany, she's not going to want to stay here, her home and family are on earth! Let the nobles lead the planet, they know what the hell is going on here, you don't!" Stripe stood quickly, walking towards Naruto and grabbed the pissed off shinobi's shirt in his hand.

"I CAN'T! The nobles are still as corrupt, craven and useless as before! They wanted to abandon Aebra with the social elite, let the common folk fend for themselves! How can I leave people such as that in power? I can't abandon my people to that, if I did I'd be no worse than the Dynasty!" Stripe was breathing deeply, his anger showing as he voiced his opinions of the 'ruling class' of his kind. Naruto looked Stripe in the eye and sighed, pulling himself from Stripe's grip and sitting down, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"When I was a kid, there was a powerful clan in my village, the Uchiha. They were arrogant, prideful and worst of all they were in charge of keeping order in the village as it's police force, allowing them to flaunt their... 'superiority'. But this wasn't enough for them, they decided that they should be the ones to make the decisions, they should be the ones to make the rules for everyone. So they planned a coup, to take what they felt they deserved. In the end, a single man from that damned clan stood up and opposed them, doing what he felt was the only option. He killed his clan, his friends, his comrades and his family. No one was spared, none except his youngest brother that had nothing to do with the plot. His name was Itachi, and his resolve saved our village from civil war. I know what it's like to bare a burden as well, just like him... just like you. I can't blame you for doing your duty to shoulder the burden you are entrusted with, but I can blame you for making Brittany choose between you and her family." Standing up, Naruto grabbed Stripe's arm and a moment later the pair appeared before a group of very anxious women, each intent on giving Naruto and Stripe a piece of their minds. Naruto pushed Stripe towards Brittany and folded his arms over his chest, his actions causing the rest of the girls to fall silent. "You two have a lot to talk about. We'll be waiting for you both right here."

* * *

Brittany followed Stripe as he lead her into a vacant room. As her fiancee closed the door, a feeling of dread slowly grew in Brittany's heart, hoping that she was wrong about what she was about to be told. Stripe held Brittany's hands in his own and began to tell her what he had shared with Naruto, the words flowing from him as he confessed why he had seemed so distant for the last few days. Brittany closed her eyes, tears forming as she listened to the man she loved explain to her that he wasn't coming home with her and her family.

"I know that this is a lot to take in, but I want you to stay with me Brittany, I want you to be my queen for my people." Brittany looked up at Stripe's hopeful gaze and cupped his cheek in her hand, a watery smile gracing her features.

"Me? A Queen? I don't know the first thing about being a queen... or your people. I'd be a terrible queen. And your asking me to abandon my family, my friends, my life and my home. Your asking me to share you with all of your people, when I only want you to look after me, care for me and love only me. Everything your saying is what you want, but I'm the one giving everything up. How is this fair to me? Marriage is a partnership, both people make sacrifices." Stripe closed his eyes and pulled Brittany into his arms as she sobbed into his chest, the Prince already knowing the decision that Brittany was going to make without her saying anything.

* * *

Naruto stood tall as he watched the door that the couple had entered, a intent look on his face as Gina and Brianna both were talking softly with Jaliera behind him. The door opened suddenly and Brittany walked out, looked at her family with a tear streaked face and raced off, dashing out of sight in moments. Stripe exited the room as well, a look of immense sadness as he closed the door and faced his friends. Gina strode forward and slapped him, Stripe not even reacting other than his head whipping to the side from the hit. As Gina stormed off after her sister, Brianna glared at the man and scoffing at him as she followed Gina, hoping to provide some comfort to her distraught sister. Jaliera stayed where she was as Naruto walked forward, one of his beamsaber's held in his palm. Tapping the inactive weapon against Stripe's chest, Naruto growled at the silent Stripe and stalked off before his anger got the better of him. Stripe looked at up at Jaliera, the former Archon bowing in respect before she walked off, leaving Stripe to his own thoughts and the consequences of his actions.

Naruto quickly ran through the hallways, sensing two of the Diggers ahead of him as he raced for the exit of the palace. Stopping at the top of the stairs, he saw Gina and Brianna standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking around the courtyard as they tried to find their sister. Naruto slowly walked down the stairs and wrapped his arm around Gina's waist as Brianna began to shout out Brittany's name. "By the time we got out her, she was already long gone... she could be anywhere Naru." Closing his eyes, Naruto reached out with his chakra and began connecting with each Hiraishin marker on the planet at this time. On the far side of the planet he felt the marker of the Visigoth as well as several dozen stationary markers in the city. The markers on both girls beside him also connected to his senses, as well as a third that was rapidly making its way through the city.

"I got her. Give me a little time to go talk to her and I'll bring her back Kirei. Both of you should wait in my room, I'll bring her there when we finish talking." Gina and Brianna both sighed, turning towards Naruto and kissed his cheeks softly before slowly making their way back to the palace. Naruto reached up to his forehead protector, tightened the knot and ran towards the city, running up the side of a tall building so that he could hop from roof to roof as he kept an eye on Brittany. Several minutes later Naruto found the distraught were-cheetah, her speeding form dashing through the city and dodging obstacles as she maintained her run. 'No matter how fast you run Cheets, you're not going to run away from this...' Naruto watched as Brittany began to slow as she reached the edge of the city, her strength fading from the hectic pace she had set for herself. Just as Naruto was about to drop to the ground beside Brittany a worried Kurama caught his attention

**'Ummm, don't you think it's a really bad idea to sneak up on her? You do remember what happened the last time you snuck up on an emotional woman... right?'**

'Aw, I didn't know you cared so much about my well being Kurama.'

**'HAH! Hell no, I'm the one that has to help heal you every time you do something stupid, I'm just keeping the amount of work I have to do to a minimum, baka.'**

* * *

Brittany collapsed onto her knees, her strength exhausted as she had dashed full speed across the entire capitol in an attempt to run from debacle that had become her life. Tears continued to fall down her cheeks as she sniffed pitifully, her heart breaking as she realized that Stripe would never be hers. 'He doesn't trust me to fight, he leaves me without telling me what's wrong and then he expects me to give up everything to live on an alien planet with him?' Leaning forward on her hands Brittany screamed in anguish, letting out all of her anger and sorrow, her hands beating the broken ground for what felt like hours. A pair of strong arms pulled Brittany to her feet against a obviously male chest, holding onto her as she screamed out her rage at the man that held her, her fists beating ineffectually against his chest until she collapsed in his arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I'm here for you Cheets, all of us are. We're never going to abandon you, ok? Just let it out, I can take it all, after all I spent the first fifteen years of my life holding the embodiment of rage in me, a girl beating against my chest... well, that's kinda a nice change of pace." A watery laugh from Brittany caused Naruto to grin as he held the crying woman in his arms. Several minutes later her tears slowed as she wrapped her arms around her friend and held him close, looking up at the grinning face of Naruto and resting her cheek against his chest.

"Thanks..." Naruto made a noncommittal noise as the pair sat down, looking at the stars before them as Brittany continued to calm down while still clinging to Naruto.

"S'ok, what else are friends for? Let me know when our ready to head back, your sisters are worried about you." Brittany closed her eyes as she leaned against Naruto's chest, her emotions slowly coming back under her control.

"In a while, I just want to stay out here for now. You'll stay with me?" Naruto chuckled softly as he tapped the were-cheetah's nose.

"Course I will, I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

Naruto grinned ruefully as he slowly made his way back to the palace, a sleeping Brittany in his arms. Dropping to the ground Naruto made his way into the palace and walked towards his room, a timely application of wind chakra opening the door for him as he nearly laughed at the scene before him.

Gina and Brianna had apparently decided to wait in bed for Naruto and Brittany, but the wait apparently had been to much for them as then fell asleep, Brianna cuddling up to her older sister from behind her. Naruto laid the sleeping woman in his arms on the bed, the furrowing of Brittany's brow making him worry that she would wake. But moments later Gina's arms reached out and pulled her sister closer towards her, holding the middle sister in her arms. Naruto grinned as all three of the girls Cuddled together, looking as if they didn't have a care in the world while they slept.

**'Oh kami, the sweetness is giving me cavities! You do realize you don't have anywhere to sleep, right? I say we go find Jaliera's room, I'm sure she'll let us bunk with her!'**

'You know, that's a great idea!' Silence met Naruto's internal exclamation for several moments until Kurama's surprised voice chimed in.

**'Really? I knew you had it in you, you sly dog you!'**

'NO, NOT REALLY DUMBASS!'

Early the next morning

A hurried conversation with Penny and a brief argument with the Vaultron Force took place that morning, the details on yesterday's incident purposefully kept sketchy as Naruto got the rest of his friends to get ready to leave Aebra. Naruto watched as the Visigoth flew overhead, heading for the outskirts of the city. Looking behind him, Naruto watched as a sombre Brittany walk towards him, her mood still in the dumps from yesterday.. Grinning cheekily at his girlfriends, Naruto walked over to the girl and hip checked her, causing Brittany to look at Naruto in shock. "Hey, wanna race to the ship?"

Brittany blinked as she processed what Naruto had said, a look of surprise replacing the glum look. "You wanna race me? Um, I think I may be a little too fast for you to start with, maybe you should race Brianna." Naruto laughed heartily as he tossed his jacket at Gina, the smiling girl deftly grabbing the article of clothing as she watched the back and forth banter before her boyfriend and sister.

"Please, I beat the fastest shinobi alive in a contest of speed! I think I can stack up to you Cheets... that is, unless your afraid to race me?" Naruto grinned as he stretched languidly, angry sparks flying from Brittany's gaze on the relaxed shinobi as he attacked her pride.

"BRING IT!"

At the Visigoth landing site

Penny stood at the foot of the Visigoth's ramp, checked her watch one more time. "He said that they'd be here by now..." A loud sonic boom knocked the young genius off of her feet, her face scrunched up in anticipation of the pain that would follow her fall. Several moments passed when Penny opened her eyes and stared into the amused eyes of the person that had caught her... "Naruto! Dammit, put me down!" Naruto laughed loudly as he set Penny back on the ground, just in time for the pair to see a panting Brittany appear from the city.

"YOU BASTARD! You cheated!" Naruto laughed as he dodged several angry swipes from the panting were-cheetah, managing to keep himself just out of reach.

"Oh come on, I didn't cheat, you're just a sore loser! Plus, I don't need to cheat to beat you in a race." Brittany glared at the shinobi, setting him off on another round of laughter. Moments later Brianna flew overhead in her battle armor, Gina holding on to her armor as the pair landed and grinned at the scene in front of them. Penny slid over to her ex rival and motioned at the bantering pair behind her.

"What the heck did Naruto do to cheese off Cheetah so much?" Gina snorted as she pulled Penny towards her and whispered in her ear. Moments later Penny burst out laughing, attracting the attention of the annoyed woman and shifting her ire to her now present sisters.

"Dammit, don't tell her what happened!" As Brittany walked towards her sisters, she realized they were standing on a cliff overlooking a very large plain outside of the city. As the curious were-cheetah reached the edge of the cliff and looked below them, her eyes widened and she turned back to her family. "Ummm, Naruto? I think you need to see this."

Naruto cocked his head to the side, stepped towards the edge of the cliff and was greeted by a sight that made him grin and happiness. Thousands of Kryn cheered as the man that saved them from destruction appeared, screaming their thanks for the visitor from another planet before he made his way home. A glowing Stripe quickly rose from the bottom of the cliff, landing beside Naruto and extending his hand. Naruto's eyes narrowed as he took the proffered hand, a roar of approval from the crowd below him at this gesture.

"I know that you're all angry with me, I only hope that one day you can forgive me for what I need to do. I want you all to know, if there is ever anything me or my people can do for you, you have to only name it and it will be done. We owe you our lives and our homes, we will never be able to repay you for what you did." Naruto sighed as he shook Stripe's hand once more as he used his free hand to wave at the ecstatic Kryn below him. Turning back to the others, Naruto looked at Brittany and motioned his head towards Stripe before entering the ship. Brittany walked towards Stripe slowly, the soon to be King of the Kryn looked contrite as his ex fiancee stood before him.

"Brittany, I'm so..." Stripe stopped speaking as he felt Brittany's arms pull him close, holding him gently as a few tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry too, I'll miss you Stripe. Goodbye." Her piece said, Brittany immediately boarded the Visigoth with the others, the boarding ramp retracting quickly and the ship rising into the sky. Stripe watched the ship leave, regret at what he had lost but secure in the knowledge that Brittany was strong and she would move past this trying time in her life and find happiness.

On the Visigoth

As the women made their way towards the bridge, a musical laugh caused the four women to stop and look at each other in confusion. Gina raised an eyebrow as she listened to the voices on the bridge. "That doesn't sound like Ace... and it's definitely not Naruto... wait a minute!" Gina ran towards the bridge, stood in the doorway and screamed in outrage, causing the other women to try and push past her to see what was wrong.

Naruto was laughing loudly, slapping his knee as he pointed towards the co pilot chair, a smiling Jaliera cocking her head to the side as she smiled at the recent arrivals to the bridge. "Hello, my name is Jaliera. By the first official decree of King Stripe of Aebra, I have been appointed as the Aebrians official liaison with Earth. Surprise!"


End file.
